Forever Dawn
by modernxlove
Summary: So much heartaches... and so much pain... so many misunderstandings... and so many problems... yet despite these, will their love still be strong enough to bind them together? Or will destiny declare it their end? A WandaxIan story. Read & Review please!
1. Prologue: The Raid

**Author's Notes: **I grabbed a copy of 'The Host' a few weeks ago and after I finished it, I realize I couldn't get enough of it! I wanted to know what happens next! Well, I decided to write my very own fanfiction about it, and since I love Wanda & Ian, this story will be all about them! You probably know, but I'll state it here anyways (just to be safe); I do NOT own 'The Host' nor its characters, well maybe, except for my own, original ones that will appear slightly in this fandom. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer, the acclaimed author.

And also, I will be putting quotes, lyrics or any other sayings on the top before a certain chapter; they also do NOT belong to me.

By the way, I'd like my readers to note that I am new to writing stories; I practically just begun today! And, another thing, English isn't my first language, and I am far from fluent. I hope you guys like the story though! Read and Review, please. Do let me know what you think about it.

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_"E.E. Cummings once wrote..._

_ To be nobody but yourself in a world which __is doing it's best, _

_night and day, to make you everybody else, _

_means to fight the hardest battle, which any human being can fight, _

_and never stop fighting."_

_- Lucas Scott, One Tree Hill_

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__

"**-Forever Dawn-"**

**Prologue: The Raid**

By, _modernxlove-_

It had been about a month since I was inserted into Pet's body. And since then, I had been feeling pretty useless lately. I couldn't help much without seeking assistance, and just going up and down from room to kitchen was tiring enough! While everyone else was busy plowing the fields and doing heavy chores out in the daylight, I was stuck inside washing the dishes. When everyone else was having fun playing ball, I was stuck watching over and babysitting the children (Ian and Melanie were worried playing soccer would be a too strenuous activity for me. Uh-huh. Yeah, right… Since when?) Not that it's a bad thing or anything… I just want to help my friends out. _Most_ of the humans, have accepted me, and I just didn't want to be a burden to them.

This body was pretty weak too. I bet I probably couldn't even run a mile without taking fifteen-minute breaks, and I bet I would give into unconsciousness if I skipped meals. Another thing, this body was prone to blushing, jumping and giggling over little things! Every time Ian would hold my hand, or hug me in public, my cheeks would feel like they're burning and redden up; Every time someone were to trip or say something stupid, I would giggle out of nowhere and that was probably annoying. For them, and for me too.

But despite these, I am really grateful that I had been given a chance to live… and even more grateful that there are people who care about my well-being too. I may not be useful when it came to plowing fields or lifting loads of boxes and etc. But, I am a professional when it comes to raiding – stealing/getting items from other Souls without them noticing! So when Jared and Melanie asked me to go raiding with them in the middle of the night, I just had to say yes! I wanted to help out my human friends more than anything!!

"You seem really happy today, Wanda." Jared pointed out, as he got into the driver's seat of the truck. "And really energetic too."

Melanie nodded. "Yeah, _happier_ than usual."

I giggled. _Ugh, this body, won't you stop jumping around?! _I commanded. It didn't work. "It's this body," I said looking down. "Every time I hear the word 'raid', I start acting like a child… and I squeal and jump around and stuff. I can't help it." I muttered.

Melanie smiled in agreement. "Yeah, I understand. We all do… by the way, Burns and Nate are coming with us on this one."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

I grinned. I forgot to mention, about four weeks ago, on our last raid, we met up with other humans; about an estimate of fifty (Nate was probably the leader of them all, or the skilled one – just like Jared was to us). They were on a lookout for a new hideout, due to their last one being wrecked by the storm that had passed through the deserts. Jared had invited them to come stay with us, and Jeb agreed, having said it's best for humans to stick around with other humans. Surprisingly, those group of humans had a Soul along with them too.

_Burns Living Flowers_ was his name. We called him 'Burns' for short. He was a really good fellow – quite big, but kindness were radiating through his eyes, just like other Souls. It was a bit difficult for the humans who were with us to accept another 'parasite', but Jeb had it all under control. Since then, Burns and I had become such good friends. It was good to have someone like my kind, asides from Sunny.

"Ah, excited Wanderer? I think this is going to be the raid of the century." Burns said, as he took a seat next to me.

"Yes, I'm excited." I said. "I love helping my friends out, and I do it best on raids."

Burns chuckled. "Me too."

Nate had taken a seat in the front, beside Jared. And that's when I noticed… "Where's Ian?" I asked, turning around looking from left to right. "Wasn't he going to come?"

Melanie nodded and pointed out to two figures emerging from outside the caves. "Yes, he is. And he's coming in. Together with his demon of a brother." Was she reffering to Kyle?

True, Ian came inside carrying a handful of stuff which we will need for the raid, and he flopped back a seat next to me, on my left. Kyle had taken a seat on Melanie's side right on the far corner, looking strained and tired. Maybe because of Sunny? She had been clinging onto him since this morning. Sunny was deeply in love with Kyle, and when I meant 'deeply', I really meant it. She's absolutely crazy about him! But I guess those feelings sprouted to life because of Jodi's memories.

"What happened to you?" Melanie asked.

Kyle groaned. "It's Sunny. It took me a while to get her off me. When she sleeps she really clings, did you know that? I had to be really sneaky to get out without her noticing."

Ian sighed. "Yeah, and I don't get why Sunny is attracted to someone like you." I giggled at the comment. Ouch. That hurt. But it was funny too. I find it a little amusing when the two of them tease each other and joke around like this. It's worth watching.

Kyle hissed. "And I don't know why Wanda is attracted to _you_ – Hey! Ow! Fuck! What did you do that for, Ian?!" He yelled, clutching his head. Ian had strike him with a bottle of water, which hit him hard on the forehead.

I stopped giggling when Ian turned to me and met my gaze with those sapphire-icy-blue eyes of his. His eyes were enough to hypnotize and mesmerize me. "Wanderer," he said softly. "Don't get too excited or else I have to bring a leash with me next time we go on a raid…"

I giggled. He placed a small kiss on my cheeks which made me blush. He smiled in reply to my reaction.

Melanie rolled her eyes as she watched. "Ugh, Ian…" she started. "Don't you ever get tired of seeing her blush?"

I pouted. "Mel, you're a meanie!"

Ian laughed. "Not at all. It makes me fall harder for her. I think it's cute." He admitted. I swore my heart would stop beating then.

I turned away from Ian's face and looked out the window, my hands clasped on my face. I had a feeling my cheeks were burning up, and if there was light, it would've been evident that my face looked like that of a tomato.

Ian blinked. "Huh? Wanda? Is something wrong?"

Melanie grinned. "She's having a _blonde moment_, Ian. Leave her be."

Ugh. _Stupid, stupid, stupid_, I thought. Why does this always happen to me? Can't I ever talk to Ian decently without having to sweat and be nervous? Can't I just stop blushing, and stop my heart from thumping fast whenever I look him in the eyes?

"A blonde moment? What's that?" Ian asked.

"Girl thing." Melanie translated. _Bingo_. "You don't need to know anything about it…"

"Uh-huh." Ian said, not hiding the sarcasm that was already evident in his tone. At that time, he pulled me closer to him, my back still facing his front. I dared not look at his face, I'll probably blush to death!!

"It's okay, Wanda…" He whispered through my ears, tucking in strands of my golden hair. "If I had known my charm affected you that much, I would've flirt with you more often." He laughed.

"Ian!" I complained.

"Just kidding." He said, chuckling. My face went hot. I will never understand the minds of human species – especially that of men.

We finally arrived in downtown Tucson, and nobody but Burns and I were allowed to go out (though Ian was very protective at first). We were supposed to get a bunch of medicines, food, a few sleeping cots and blankets, clothing and etc. Jeb had made a list of what we were supposed to get and it was going to be a handful to bring them all in the truck.

"It's good to know they trust us," Burns admitted, throwing in bottles of No Pain, Heal and Awake into the shopping cart.

"I have to agree with you there, pal." I said checking the shopping-list one more time. "Okay, so we've got the medicines, the blankets, handful of clothes, now all we need are some cots." Cots… do they even sell cots at local department stores? Last time I checked, the Souls had thrown out cots a _long_ time ago. They were replaced with soft cushion-like mattresses called the _Whoopy Dreaming Beds_ as I heard from Sunny.

Burns had gone over to the saleslady and had asked if they had any cots available for buy. "I'm sorry, sir. We have thrown out human mattresses over four years ago, but we do have available new cushions for sleeping. I'll give you a discount if you would sign your name over here," Burns did as he was told (he put our false names, of course), and we got about seven Whoopy Dreaming Beds in a roll. It was sort of small, really. But very, very soft.

"It's guaranteed to make you fall asleep in a matter of seconds." The saleslady said.

"Well, thank you." Burns and I replied in unison.

"Is that all I may get for you?"

"Yes."

The saleslady had helped us carry all of our stuff to the counter, where she totaled the sum of the costing, and then helped us take them outside.

"Should I ask for reinforcements to help load your items?" She asked.

"Um, no, thanks. That won't be necessary." I assured her, trying to carry the heavy box. "We're fine, really."

"Okay," She smiled. "Thanks for shopping, _Underwater Sea Flower_ and _Crawling Weed_. I am very honored to have helped you." She said. It took a while for her to get back into the store without having to reassure her over and over again that we didn't need help loading the boxes.

"You guys need help?" Jared and Nate asked getting out of the truck once the coast was clear.

"Yes," I said breathless. "Thanks."

Ian, Mel and Kyle had gotten out of the vehicle as well to help. Ian was glad, as always, that I was safe, away from the clutches of danger. Awwe, he's so protective, it's sweet. So after we had finished putting everything in place, we headed back home to the deserts, taking a five minute break every now and then when one needed to do their business. You know what I mean…

We passed by the bridge that had connected Tucson to the deserts, just near the roads which were heading to Pheonix, Arizona. No doubt, this would be a long trip, from Tucson back to the caves – but since more people have joined us, we had to rush back home immediately; food and medical equipments were lacking and it'd probably take us until tomorrow morning to reach home. Just then, while we were in the middle of the sandy deserts, the truck came to a complete stop.

"Jared, what the hell?" Kyle's voice boomed,.

"What's wrong, Jared?" Melanie asked, having just woke up.

Jared paused before answering. "Someone, or _something_ is here." He warned. "Stay, very, very quiet." God, was it the Seekers? Was it that saleslady from the store earlier? No, no, no… Please, don't let it be the Seekers. Ian pulled me tight to his arms as he felt me trembling.

"Shh, Wanda, it's going to be alright." He promised. "I'm here… don't worry." Those mere words were not enough to make the fear in my heart fade.

"Ian, Ian…" I clutched the back of his shirt tightly. Burns came towards us and gave me a tap on the back. "I'll go check it out-"

"What?" I blinked. "Wait, you can't!"

Nate sighed. "Leave him be, Wanderer." He said, sliding out of the front-seat right over to the back. He grinned playfully. "When Burns wants to do something, there's no stopping him… and if that's the case, I think I'll go join him."

I gulped.

"I'll go too." Jared declared, crawling out of his seating position right in front of the driver's seat.

"If Jared's going, I am too." Melanie said eagerly, holding Jared's hand.

Kyle sighed. "If everyone's going, I'm going too."

I gulped. Again. Was _everyone_ going out? _Excuse me, people, but we're talking about a Seeker here! If you all get caught, you'll all be gone and discarded!_, I thought, pulling out of Ian's protective embrace. Humans were always surprising. "T-Then, that means, I should go too, right-"

"No." Ian interrupted me. "Jared, if everyone goes, it'll be too dangerous. Chances are, if it's a Seeker out there, and you'll all be caught,, what will we tell Jeb and the others?"

Jared nodded. "You got a point, O'Shea… okay, raise your hands if you want to volunteer!"

No one raised their hands. Except for Burns.

"Okay, we have Burns." Jared said. "We need another one…"

Nate groaned. "Since nobody's going, why don't we use the 'other' method?"

Everyone blinked. "Other method?" We all intoned. "What _other_ method?"

Nate rolled his eyes. "Rock-paper-scissors. Obviously. Geez, you guys are not updated."

Rock-paper-scissors? What's that? I had no idea… It sounds interesting, though.

"Okay…" Jared said sarcastically. "Let's _play_ rock-paper-scissors… everyone come into a circle now!" We did what we were told, we formed into a small circle inside of the truck. The Seeker out there just had to wait for us.

"On the count of three," Nate said, his voice going louder. "One, two three!" And everyone held their hands out, shaped into a clenched-fist-like ball, and since I had no idea what to do, I just held my hands straight- and flat.

"Okay," Nate said with a groan. "I lost to a Soul. Wanda, that means you and Burns go check out what's outside."

Ian flinched and tightened his hold of my hand. "No. Wanda isn't going out there."

"She won. Fair and square, Ian." Nate pointed out. "She and Burns are Souls. If it's a Seeker out there, they wouldn't get in trouble."

Ian grunted. "I'm not going to risk it."

I sighed, and then hugged Ian gently. "It's okay, Ian. I'll go. I have to do this… I'm good at this, remember?"

Ian rolled his eyes. "No, you're not." He said, his voice a little bit forceful.

"Let her go, O'Shea." Mel and Jared said in unison. "If you really love Wanda," Mel continued. "You've got to trust in her and believe in her."

I smiled gently at Ian, who didn't smile back. "Trust me." I said.

It took a while before he finally agreed. "Thanks, Ian." I said, as he gently kissed my lips.

Burns and I had gone out the back of the truck quietly with flashlights clutched tightly in our hands. It was really dark, and the only ones that gave us lights were the twinkling stars above and the moon that had been covered by the were unarmed – we had no guns or anything of the sort; just our flashlights. I swear I could hear moaning sounds coming from the front of the truck.

"Do you hear that?" I asked Burns in a whisper.

Burns nodded.

The two of us slowly crept to the front of the truck, and that's when we saw one cloaked figure. She was hutched on the ground, hugging her knees tightly. Was she… crying? A Seeker crying? No way. I flashed my light on her, and she winced at the action. She was a petite brunette, with pale skin, just like Ian's. I took a glance and saw her eyes – they weren't silver at all; they were hazel green like the color of grass, and she had a false cut on the side of her neck. She's… a human.

"Burns, this isn't a Seeker at all." I said. "She's human." I clarified.

We both approached her slowly, and she was startled, forcing herself to slide back.

"It's alright." I whispered. "We won't hurt you…" I promised. She looked so pitiful, eyes filled with fear, and were drenched with tears.

"N-No…" She said in a hoarse voice. "Y-You're o-one of t-them!"

"Yes, we are Souls." Burns nodded. "But we aren't part of the Seekers, nor will we bring you to them. We're part of the Human crew."

She gulped in disbelief. I can tell she was afraid. I kneeled to level with her crouched position. I held my hands out. "Hello there… I'm Wanderer, and this big guy here is my friend, Burns Living Flowers."

Burns bowed. "Just 'Burns' for short." He said.

"You don't have to be afraid." I assured her. "Can you please tell me your name?"

She hesitated at first. And I can feel her trembling with fear. "I-It's Lori." She stuttered. I smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Lori."

Right after a few minutes or so Kyle and Ian got out of the truck and approached us.

"What's taking you aliens so long?" Kyle demanded.

"Nothing, Kyle." I sighed. "But look, I think we're going to have a new friend. Her name's Lori." I flashed light onto her, and Kyle and Ian stood in shock.

"Lori?" The name escaped Ian's lips, and his eyes were wide open. I could tell he was speechless.

"Is she still human? Or did the parasite take over?" Kyle demanded again. I shook my head. "Rest assured. She's human."

Ian ran to us, and I was hoping he would come and embrace me and tell me how much he'd been worrying inside the truck; but he did the opposite. He ran passed me, passed Burns and ran towards the girl.

"Lori," He said, his tone happy, as he embraced her tightly.

"I-Ian?" Lori asked. "Is it… really you? Are you still human?" Tears were swelling up her eyes.

Ian nodded, as he placed his hands on her shoulders. "God, Lori, I've missed you, so much…" He said. "I thought… I thought you died.

Lori laughed a bit. "Same as you."

And that's when she turned to Ian and kissed him on the lips. I felt my heart froze right then and there. Who was this girl? How did she know Ian? Why was Ian so close to her? My mind was filled with overbearing questions. God, I was confused. Kyle tapped my back and even though it was dark, I could tell he was grinning.

"Uh-oh." He said. "Wanda, looks like you're going to have competition."

I blinked. "Why's that?"

"Because Lori is Ian's lover." He pointed out. I felt pain strike my chest, like lightning striking the trees. "Well, ex-girlfriend, I suppose. But I guess I shouldn't judge. Ian and Lori loved each other; he was definitely devastated when she just disappeared during the time of invasion, but now, they're together again." He chuckled. "Aren't they sweet?"

I could feel tears threatening to flow down my eyes. What was this feeling? It hurt.

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	2. Heartbreaker

**Author's Notes**: This chapter was pretty hard to write. Before working on this, I was uninspired and was really unimaginative. But after listening to countless of break-up songs, this chapter just popped outta my head! So once I got started on writing this one, I was really on the roll you know, I kept typing and typing. I had to rush this one though, because I wanted to post this up before New Years, so I guess I was able to do it! Yay! Haha. Just to warn you though, Wanda will be facing alot of troubles and problems in this fandom, and it all starts here... you'll probably end up hating me (?!) for writing this, and probably end up hating a certain character too...

By the way, the theme song for this chapter is "Simple Song" by Miley Cyrus. I know lots of people hate Miley, but my iTunes was playing Miley's song, and I just thought it fit this chapter. So make sure to listen to the song while reading! Read and review, please!

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_"Sometimes, we're forced to bend the truth, transform it,_

_because we're faced with things that are not of our own making._

_And sometimes, these things just simply catch up to us."_

_- Anonymous_

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"_**-Forever Dawn-"**_

_**Chapter One: Heartbreaker**_

_By, __modernxlove-_

"What were you doing out there?" Jared asked directly, eyeing Lori suspiciously, as if she were a Soul. Lori shivered and clung on to Ian tighter. That action made me flinch. _Keep your hands away from him!_, I thought, trying to keep calm though I knew I was far from it.

"Jared!" Ian complained. "Stop scaring her! She's… afraid. Surely she's been through hell all these years."

Jared sighed, then he looked up to Lori's fearful eyes. "Okay… let's run this again." He said. "What. Were. You. Doing. Out. There?" He said very slowly. Lori looked up at him. "I'm not… stupid.. I can understand you." She said quietly. How harsh, though I've gotta admit, this girl was tough. All of us were staring at her now.

"Um," She continued, "You see… I've been… pretending to be one on of _them_… over the past years… I got these fake cuts," She pointed to a tiny imperfect line slashed on to the left side of her neck "To make them think I was one of them… I even got fake Silver contact lenses…" She might be talking smart now but I could still feel the fear being carried in her voice.

Kyle nodded. "Yeah, okay… but that still doesn't answer Jared's question. What _were _you doing out here in the deserts?"

She sat up from her leaning-position (which was next to Ian). "I heard the news about a month ago… people were saying that there have been… disappearances lately. And it always had something to do with the deserts." She muttered. "Rumor was going around saying that there could've been humans here in the desert area, but those damn buggers were too afraid to check it out. I just had to see for myself if humans were still up and alive. Guess I _was_ right." She smiled at Ian, who smiled back at her. I smiled too, to hide what I actually felt. _Anger_. _Hatred_. _Envy_. What else?

Melanie tapped her on the back. "Well, you're with us humans now… so, you'll be alright."

I joined Melanie's attempt to make Lori feel better. "Yeah. We're all in this together, right?"

Lori's eyes tightened and she shoved my hands right then. "D-Don't touch me!" She yelled. "Y-You're one of _them_! You're a _stupid_, ugly, bugger! All _Souls _are!"

I bit my lip. Sure, she could've mocked me all she wanted, I wouldn't be offended. But badmouthing my race? My _entire_ species? I couldn't stand that. I slowly backed away... the tears were going to spill now. _Don't cry!_, I commanded my body. _Don't cry!_

Burns took hold of my hand, and so did Mel – that eased the pain. I looked at Ian, who didn't even bother to look at me. He was… busy, comforting that, that evil monster of a human!

"O'Shea!" Jared called, grabbing his attention. Ian turned to face him, and he pointed towards my direction. Ian shrugged and looked at me; his pale blue eyes didn't have the same glow anymore. "I'm sorry, Wanda…" he said. "But please, can you leave us alone for a bit?"

Kyle looked at me, expecting I was going to burst out crying. I didn't. I just sighed, doing my best not to show my tear-drenched eyes. I turned my back on them… it was the only option I could ever pick right now.

**-***-**

"They're back!" Jamie exclaimed, running towards us as Jared slowly parked the truck in the hideaway, Sunny and Jeb tagging along too.

Jeb laughed, and pulled Jamie back, just in time the truck came to a halt. "Whoa, slow down there lil' kid." He said with a grin. "Ya wouldn't want to be crushed know would'chu?"

Jamie shook his head.

It took us about two and a half days to get back home… raids usually took about a whole week – a month even – but we were on a rush, so I thought two days was pretty good. Jamie ran to me with a hug, almost knocking me off.

"Hey fellow." I said, dryly.

Jamie took notice of my bad mood. Was I in a bad mood? I felt kind of sour though. Every time I were to see Ian and that human girl, Lori, together, my heart would thump as if it were about to escape from my chest and I would feel… angry. That's really strange. Souls _never_ get angry (except for my old Seeker). And what Kyle told me a few days ago wouldn't escape my mind. I would always ponder around thinking about it.

"What's wrong, Wanda?" Jamie asked, concern etched all over his features. "Aren't you glad to be back home?"

I forced a smile. A tiny smile. "Yeah, I'm happy-"

"Hey Mel!" Jamie called out to Melanie, who was approaching us, interrupting my sentence. "Who's that girl Ian's with?" He asked.

I sighed.

Melanie explained everything. "She's Ian's long-time friend." She pointed out. "We found her on the way home… but don't startle her or anything, Jamie. She's still a bit wary, and scared of her surroundings."

Jamie smiled. "Yeah sure!" He raved. "Yay! That means a new friend."

"Perfect," I grumbled.

Lori was accepted by all the humans already, probably except for Sunny who didn't seem to mind her at all. The moment she walked inside the caves, everyone came up to her as if she was some sort of celebrity. They were all curious and asking her questions about how she'd survive the Seekers and she did her best to answer (well, there were times where she took some to the extreme) all of them. Even Jamie and Doc were interested in her. But that wasn't bad at all. It was good Jamie had made a new friend. Also, as a guest at Jeb's place, she too wasn't excused about helping everyone out with the chores. She had to help out just as everyone did. But the thing that bothered me most was the countless times she and Ian spent together. Almost as, if _they _were partners! Sunny noticed this, but she didn't even bother to go and make me feel better. She practically made it worse.

"Wanda, Wanda, Wanda," She said, as she took a seat beside me, a platter of chicken and meat occupying her hands. "What is that human girl and Ian doing together all the time? I thought you two were partners now." She was talking about Lori, obviously.

I sighed. "We are, Sunny… Ian just misses her, that's why he's spending time with her lots." I reasoned. Sunny didn't seem to fall for this.

"Yeah," she said, sarcastically, telling the world what she actually thought.

"Really," I said, trying to sound convincing. "Me and Ian are still good… I think." I trailed off, hoping she didn't hear the last sentence. She didn't answer. She took a bite off her lunch. I didn't bother eating. I didn't even feel like it. I continued staring out at the tiny cracks of the cave, my thoughts taking over.

That night, Ian and I were inside our room. It wasn't that late in the evening; probably around 8:30 pm, but Jeb had ordered all of us to sleep in earlier than usual, though I had no idea why. I had noticed Ian walking to and from the cabinet grabbing some of his clothes and stuffing them inside a bag, and grabbing a few pillows here and there. It seems as if he was… packing.

"Ian… what are you doing?" I asked, sitting up from the uncomfortable cot. Yeah, I had bought new beds, but they were only for the humans who needed them most.

"Umm, Wanda, I'm… not…" He hesitated to answer.

"What is it?"

"I'm not going to sleep here, with you tonight." He said, not looking me in the eyes.

"Why?" _Ian, why?_

"I'm going to stay over at Lori's room for a while…" He trailed off. "She's only been here for about a week, and I can tell she's scared. But I promised her today that I'd be with her tonight… so…"

I bit my lip. "O-Okay." I said softly.

"Are you okay with it?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." I tried to smile. Lately, my smiles have been so… fake. "Um, would you please just go to her now? I'm sure Lori's probably frightened now."

Ian shrugged. "Wanda-"

"Ian, please… I'll be fine." I faked a yawn. "See? I'm kind of tired right now, and I just want to sleep…"

He nodded. "Well, goodnight." And he closed the door gently. That's it? That was it?

_Ian… Ian…_, I sobbed, clutching my blanket tightly. The tears fell down my cheeks and dripped down my fist-clenched hands. _Why do I feel this way?? Why??_ I questioned these human emotions. They were so powerful. I wasn't injured, I didn't have a single cut or slash on my body. But I was hurt, I was in pain. Not on the outside, on the inside. These emotions are so… powerful. I knew Ian would never love me truly in this body. Maybe if I was more attractive like Lori… maybe then he would love me.

I fell asleep after hours of crying. But even though I was asleep, I could feel the tears dripping down, like they were never going to end. But it's only in my dreams where I can't feel pain… and so I drifted along the pathway of my dreaming mind…

"Hey, Wanda! Wanda! Wake up!" I heard the persistent tugging of my shirt and voice, and it drew me awake. I opened my eyes to see Jamie and Melanie up and dressed.

"Wanda! C'mon! Get up!" Jamie demanded.

I did what he ordered. I rubbed my eyes slowly; I had a feeling I looked terrible – I had spent the whole night crying and crying.

"Wanda? Are you alright?" Melanie asked, looking worried. She's always worried, Melanie, my sister. "You look… off today."

I didn't respond. But she knew exactly what I was thinking about. She can always read my mind.

"It's Ian, right?" She said. _I told you she can read my mind_.

I nodded.

"What happened?"

"Well… Ian left me last night, to go sleep with Lori…"

Melanie giggled.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Well," She started, "you're upset because of that?"

I nodded.

She giggled again. "Oh, Wanda! You're just jealous!"

"Jealous?" I repeated.

"Yeah, you're upset because Ian would rather spend time with Lori, rather than with you. C'mon, admit it, you want him all to yourself! Am I right?" She grinned.

Jealous? Was that all I felt? Maybe there was more to it…

"Well, am I right?" Melanie pushed.

I smiled. "Yeah."

"Mel! Stop talking about lovey-dovey stuff and boys!" Jamie complained. "Wanda doesn't like that! Right, Wanda?" He smiled, a big happy smile in my direction, and I smiled back. "Anyways, Wanda, you better get up and eat breakfast before everyone else finishes it!"

I nodded. "Sure thing, Jamie."

That morning, everything had gone the way it usually did. Chores from afternoon till sunset and maybe Jeb would host up another game of soccer over in the game room. I was excused with this time's chores though, I had done my help gardening and doing the laundries yesterday, so I've got the entire afternoon all to myself. As I was about to go to my room, Jeb had approached me with a new soccer ball.

"Give it to Ian please." He said, handing me the ball.

I took it. "What for?" I asked.

"Another round of soccer." He answered. "He said he was going to play a game with Lori."

I gasped. _Him and Lori? Again? What's going on?! Why are they always together?!_, I asked myself. Doesn't he care about me anymore? Doesn't he?

Jeb looked at me, concern etched on his face. "Hey, you okay there Wanda?"

I forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm okay… I'm going to head over to the game room and give this to Ian."

He nodded. "Okay… whatever you say. By the way," I stopped walking. "Are you and Ian okay? He seems to be… a little, attached to that Lori-girl… Not jealous, are you?"

I sighed. "Don't worry, Jeb. We're fine. Really." Was it the truth? It hell wasn't! I wrist-walked to the game room, trying every means to find a way, or rather, trying to tell myself that everything was alright with Ian. Clearly, it wasn't. I was halfway in the tunnel, connecting the game room to the main caves. I stopped when I heard Jared's voice.

"… it's not fair to her, O'Shea." Jared said.

I could hear Ian shrug. "It's not like that, Howe-"

"Yeah?!" Jared interrupted, his voice was a growl. "Do you think this is fair to Wanda?"

"I don't think that's the case…"

Jared sighed. "I thought you loved her, O'Shea."

"I do, but… Lori… I…" He took a deep breath. "I… guess I love her too… I'm _still_ in love with Lori, Jared…" He hesitated to answer. "I haven't seen her for six years… I cannot deny the fact that she's alive, right here, and that I am _still_ in love with her! Do you understand me?!" This time, he was practically yelling.

I trembled. Slowly stepping back. _No, no_, I thought. My heart was thumping fast. No, no, no… Ian… was this him? No, no, no… He would never say something like that. Never…

_Smack! _I heard a force push down the rocky caves. Did Jared punch Ian? Or was it the other way around? I didn't care. Not anymore.

"You're unbelievable, O'Shea." Jared said. I could tell he was smirking. "I am sick of you."

I felt sick too. I wiped my tears, hoping it wasn't evident on my face that I had just cried, and that my heart had just been broken and torn in half. I stepped into the game room, Jared and Ian were stunned to see me there.

"Wanda…" Ian blinked.

I tried my best to smile. "Jeb said you were going to play soccer. I got you the ball." I said, handing it to Jared.

"Um, thanks, Wanda." He said, dryly. "Thank you."

_Just smile. Keep smiling_, I told myself. And I did.

"Hey! Is the ball there now?" I heard Jamie yell. He ran to us, to me, along with Lori, Melanie, Lily, Andy and Nate. Burns wasn't here; I took a quick glance at Lori and understood why.

"Hey Wanda, play soccer with us!" Jamie begged, already on my heels. "You never play with us… I want you to play!" He insisted.

I smiled stiffly. "Um, well sure-"

"No," Lori interrupted. "No_ it_ can't play with us, Jamie."

Jamie frowned, so did I. "Why not?" he demanded.

Lori swallowed. "Because… because she's one of _them_! Don't let _it_ tell you lies, kid!"

I bit my lip. Oh, she'd gone too far. I grabbed her arm, "Why do you hate me so much?!" I demanded angrily, as if all the emotions I've been feeling were swelling up me, though I know my expression would've suit Melanie more than it did me. She jerked her hand away from me, disgusted.

"Stay away from me!" She screamed, already shoving me. Everyone stared in silence. "Just keep your distance!"

Jamie pushed Lori out of the way and clung to me, sobbing. "Don't treat Wanda like that! She's a good person!"

Lori frowned. "Sh- It's not a person, Jamie! It's an alien, you hear me?!" She sounded hysterical already. "It's the one responsible for taking away everyone we love!"

"If you can't accept her, you're not my friend!" Jamie hissed. "Wanda's my sister!" He sobbed and cried harder. I hugged him tightly. "It's okay, Jamie…" I promised, tears already swelling up my eyes too. Melanie approached us and turned to Lori with a furious expression.

"Mess up with my family," She said, "And you'll be six meters below the ground, dead."

Lori gasped and ran towards Ian, who was frozen in shock. "Ian!" She called out, wrapping her arms around him, towing him out of the game room. What took me by surprise was that Ian didn't pull away. I didn't want to look at them anymore… but even after overhearing his conversation with Jared earlier, I still couldn't bring myself to hate Ian. I can't _unlove_ him. I can't… but why wasn't he hear at my side protecting me? Why?

Supper was awkward. After what had happened in the game room, I guess I couldn't blame the people. So for dinner the menu was toasted ham and cheese sand which. I ate my share of dinner slowly, chewing every bite at least seven times. Melanie, Jared, Doc, and Jamie sat with me, though they _knew_ nothing they can do would help me.

"Ian's… not here…" I said sighing.

Melanie groaned. "Oh, c'mon, Wanda! That man is _so_… ugh! And so is that Lori girl." She complained.

Jamie patted me on the back. "I'm sorry Wanda…" He apologized.

**Ian's POV**

_Why wasn't I there for her? Why am I stuck here with Lori?_, I asked myself. I love Lori, but, I love Wanda, too. But I can't stand watching Wanda's feelings getting hurt out there, and I don't want to hurt Lori too! This insanity's driving me crazy!! Why, why does this have to happen?

Lori approached my bedside and handed me a plate of food.

"Eat." She commanded.

"We're not going to the kitchen? Jeb says we should always eat in the kitchen-"

"Who cares about Jeb!" She interrupted, not hiding the patience in her voice. "Look, Ian, I want to ask you something and you better answer it!" She yelled.

I was startled. "O-Okay…"

"Are you in love with that alien bitch?"

That's it, I thought. "That's it!" I yelled. "Stop talking about her like that! You don't know anything about Wanda! She's trying hard to be your friend, why don't you just get over the things that happened in the past and accept her?!"

Lori gasped, taken aback by my sudden anger.

I sighed. "I'm sorry, Lori… but, I really don't know what I'm feeling right now."

Lori stood up and sat behind me, wrapping her hands down my waist and leaning her head on my back. "Ian…" She said. "Ian, look, if you love that alien-girl, it's just gonna make things worst."

"Worst how?" I asked.

"It's _her_ fault this invasion thing happened in the first place! It's _her_ fault we've lost everyone we cared about!"

I shook my head in disagreement. "No, Lori, she's not like that. She's not like the others! Wanda's different! She's good!" I reasoned. "And I… I…"

Lori put her finger over my mouth and shushed me. She leaned closer, and closer. "Ian," She whispered, "I love you… doesn't that matter?" She put her mouth over mine, and kissed it, making me lose control of everything. Her tongue swirled to mine and it made my heart thud.

"I want to spend my life with you, Ian." She said in a whisper, her arms wrapped around my neck.

**Wanda's POV**

Dinnertime passed by slowly and quietly, and after we had finished all of the food in our plate, we had to put them back in the sink. Lori and Ian came back after, I guess to put their dishes in the sink. Lori came up to me with hatred evident in her hazel green eyes. She frowned at me.

"What?" I asked dryly.

"Don't you dare steal my boyfriend." She said in a threatening voice.

"Boyfriend?" I blinked. I was confused.

"Oh, don't play dumb with me!" She yelled. Ian walked towards us and stood beside her. He looked sad. "I'm talking about Ian!"

I gasped. "Ian? Ian?!" I demanded. "Ian's my partner! He was even before I was inserted into this body!" I was shouting already, and everyone was staring at us. I didn't care. I was angry, really angry at Lori. And I didn't want to waste my time, but I had to do this.

Lori smirked. "Says who?"

I bit my lip. "Says me! Ask Ian! Right, Ian?" I looked at him, demanding an explanation, but he was looking at her.

"Is it true, Ian?" Lori asked him sarcastically. "Is it true this alien is your girlfriend and partner?" Her voice was purposely elevated to make everyone hear it.

I knew Ian would tell the truth. We were partners, right? At least that's what I believed. I had faith in Ian. "Ian, tell her." I said.

Ian shook his head. "No, Wanda. We were never partners." He whispered.

I froze.

Lori giggled. "What was that, Ian? Say it louder, sweetie, I didn't hear you."

"NO, WANDA!" He yelled forcefully. "WE AREN'T PARTNERS!!"

I trembled. No, I was practically shaking. My heart was beating faster and faster. The tears were streaming down my silver-grey eyes, I could tell, because they were dripping down the cavy floors. I closed my eyes and faced down, forcing more tears to come down and to trickle down my cheeks. "Is… this true, Ian? You don't love me?" I asked.

Ian shook his head. "No, I don't. And I never did…" He said, smiling. Forced smile, I knew it. "Honestly, Wanda. I never did love you. I only said it because I thought it was the right thing to say. I thought it was the best way to comfort you while you were here. But honestly…" He looked at me, the sparkle and love in his sapphire-blue eyes completely gone. "I'm tired of faking my feelings. I'm tired of loving you. Because the one I truly love isn't you. It's Lori."

"Okay," I said, more tears flowing down. I quickly wiped them off and smiled. It wasn't a force smile, I think. "Thanks for being honest. Thank you."

I didn't know which one of us was lying. But I couldn't take it anymore, and I didn't care if I couldn't tell. I ran. I ran passed everyone, as if I was running for my life. Because it felt like my life just ended. Melanie was wrong. It didn't feel like jealousy. It didn't feel like jealousy at all. What I felt was betrayal. And I would've never thought the one man whom I loved, the one man who I would stay in a planet for, would be the one to do it; would be the one to lie to me and would be the one to break me.


	3. Feelings

**Author's Notes: **I wrote this while I was sick and without much thought at all, and when I wasn't feeling so up to it, so I apologize if the plotline for this chapter is kind of _poorly-written_, in my point of view… Well I did try my best though, and some parts might not make any sense at all. But, I hope you readers will still enjoy it! But, I can't believe it! After posting up the last chapter, and when I checked back, I couldn't believe I got 11 reviews and lots of people putting 'Forever Dawn' on their favorites list! I was so happy, I was practically jumping! Haha.

Also, I love the reaction I got from all of you and let me tell you that I enjoyed reading your opinions – If I made you guys hate Lori and feel sorry for Wanda, then I accomplished my task! But I didn't intend to make you hate Ian too… I was aiming all the hatred at Lori! I _swear_! But I think all of you dislike her, am I right? I don't really like portraying a character as an enemy. Each person has his/her own feelings, but the world isn't easy enough to accept the differences of opinion to everyone. That's why those characters can never become heroes. The POV's my change anytime too.

By the way, the theme song for this chapter is the song "Why?" By Secondhand Serenade. Listen to it while reading! And again, review and let me know what you think!

* * *

"_I didn't think I knew the chaos I was getting in._

_But I've broken all my promises to you…_

_I've broken all my promises to you."_

_- "Why?" by Secondhand Serenade_

* * *

"_**-Forever Dawn-"**_

_**Chapter Two: Feelings**_

_By, __modernxlove-_

I heard voices… voices of people I know… but I didn't mind them all that much…

"Is she alright?"

"No, I don't think so."

I heard lots of them talking and whispering. But I found it hard to open my closed eyes and to identify which one was which. I didn't know where I was – but I knew I was lying down in a soft mattress. It didn't feel hard like those cots.

"Where's Wanda? Is she still upset?"

"She's asleep now."

"What happened to her and Ian?"

"We don't know."

"Poor, Wanda… she must be in a state of confusion right now."

"Jared found her in the once shattered cave floors – you know, where Kyle once tried to kill her? We found her crouched to a stone wall."

"Oh, you must feel sorry for her… that poor girl."

_Stop it already_, I thought. _Stop feeling sorry for me… _I tried my best to open my eyes, but I was so tired. Doc must've used 'The Sleep' on me again… After countless of tries, I gave up… but before sleep claimed me, I swear I heard Ian's voice and Ian's hand stroking my face.

"I'm sorry… Wanda…"

_Ian… Ian, why? Why?..._

And I drifted off to sleep, my conscience still yearning for answers... and still yearning for Ian…

**Ian's POV**

I walked into the dark, quiet room, which was supposed to be mine and Wanda's room. It wasn't supposed to be quiet or dark. It was supposed to be cheerful and bright, because Wanda was always there, sitting on the cots, giggling and laughing; her smile was enough to lighten up the dark room and her voice was enough to brighten up my day and ease my troubles. She was my good-luck charm, I would always say. But Wanda isn't here; she left this room deserted to stay with that Nate guy and that Burns Living Flowers Soul days ago. How long has it been since I yelled at her? About a week, I think.

I never wanted to see Wanda cry… and I never wanted to hurt her either. But I did, and I can't erase that! I wish I can just, turn back time… God, I'm so stupid.

_I'm so sorry… Wanda… _I closed my eyes and imagined her smiling face…

"Hey, Ian…" I turned around, hoping to see my Wanda again, with her cheery sweet smile. It was just Lori. "This will be our room now; I talked it over with Jeb, Ian…" She said with a grin.

"Oh." Was all I could say.

"C'mon," She said, tapping my back. "Be more happy, you know. It's a first time in a long time we've stayed together like this."

I bit my lip. "But you made me lie to _her_, Lori! This isn't fair! Not to _you,_ not to _me_, not to _Wanda_, and not to everybody else too! You know it, Lori!"

She sighed. "Ian, Ian, Ian. Three words, sweetheart: Get. Over. It. Without me here, you'd still be all over that alien bugger and people would've think you've lost your mind. Good thing I was here to stop you. Now, you're normal, like everybody else-"

"But what about Kyle?!" I snarled.

"Kyle's not you. Plus, you'll be happier this way. Trust me."

I clenched my fist. "But I'm not happy, Lori! I'm _not_ happy! Maybe I _don't_ love you after all! Maybe, I'm just telling myself to love you because I've loved you before! This was a mistake and I screwed mine and Wanda's relationship big time!" I wanted to punch somebody, no, I wanted to wreck the whole place and kill everyone.

Lori was going to be the one to keep me company now. But there was just, something about her that made me feel uneasy… and uncomfortable. It's like a feeling of bad luck and karma going your way and I just couldn't shake it off, and I had no idea why...

**Wanda's POV**

How many days has it been since that incident with Ian? I didn't really know… all I knew was that every day seemed like eternity. I didn't sleep in his room anymore. I stayed with Burns and Nate; their room was the only one available. Melanie was with Jared, and I didn't want to bother them… so I decided to stay with Burn and Nate. It was really nice of them to approve of my staying, they didn't protest at all. But was bad was that they were persistent on knowing about Ian and I, and would often ask me if I'm alright. I swear, if anyone asks me if I'm okay, I'm going to explode.

"Are you sure you don't need help?" Burns asked from behind me. I finished rinsing the bowl and I placed it on the rack to dry. _Eight more to go_, I sighed.

"No, thanks." I said to Burns. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Nate asked. "You look tired. C'mon, I can do it for you."

I shrugged. "No, it's okay."

Melanie approached us and grabbed the plate from my hand.

"Hey!"

"You're not up to this." She said. "Look," She pointed at the tiny crack evident on the side of the plate. "You're doing this absentmindedly. You've been scrubbing this plate for an hour."

"Oh."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Melanie asked. I clenched my fist.

"Yes, Mel. I'm alright." I said sarcastically. Why do people keep asking?

"You're lying." Jared said from behind me.

I jumped a little in surprise. I didn't see him coming. He was always sneaking up from behind me, and I found it very creepy.

"Sorry," He apologized. "You're a bad liar, you know that?"

I didn't bother responding.

"You're not _really_ alright, are you?" He said.

I didn't respond. Again. Why did I have to answer him? I've been answering questions like that all week!

Jared put a hand over my shoulder and gazed into my eyes. His sienna-colored eyes were holding mine and they were lighting up with worried expressions. "_Are_ you?" He repeated himself.

I faced the ground, not wanting to get any more eye contact with him…

"Answer him, Wanda." Melanie pushed.

That's all it took to snap me of my anger. "If you really _want_ to know, I'm _NOT_ alright, okay?! I'm _not_! I just had the man I love break my heart! And I'm _sick_ and _tired_ of having to explain _myself_ in front of all of you!!" I burst, tears already spilling from my eyes. "So please, just stop asking me already!!" The tears were spilling down so much now, and I didn't bother hiding them. I just wanted to hide away from the rest of the world.

"Wanda…" Everyone muttered in unison.

"J-Just leave me alone!" I yelled, taking flight.; I was ready to kick up and run, until Melanie intervened.

"Wanda! Wait-!" Melanie ordered, grabbing hold of my right arm.

I did my best to shake her off, and surprisingly, I was able to let her go. I ran as I heard them yell for me. Couldn't they just leave me alone? Couldn't they let me decide for myself? Decide for my _own _actions? I ran out of the caves, I didn't know where my feet would take me. I couldn't see anything, because the tears I was crying were blinding my vision… but I didn't care. I just wanted to be alone. I just want to cry myself out without anyone telling me to stop and assuring me that it's okay. No, it's _not_ okay. It _wasn't _okay at all!

I passed the inner borders of these caves and I stopped until I reached the cliffs, where I could see the tiny waterfall that fell down through the cave floors. There, I cried and cried. I cried for a really long time, my body was wrenched with the force of my grief and sorrow.

_Ian_… I cried for him inside. _Why would you do this to me? Why would you do this to us? Why?..._

I wish I had the answers to everything… I never imagined how painful it would be for your loved one to leave you, to betray you. It didn't hurt this much when I first met Jared; when he rejected me and betrayed me; I cried, but the tears didn't last this long… I didn't understand why. I loved Jared the time I was in Melanie's body… but then I guess, it was Melanie's feelings that made me love Jared. But now, loving Ian were _my_ feelings; they were my _true_ feelings. Not Melanie's.

As the hours flew by, my tears lessened. I was able to stop myself from trembling already. I slowly stood up, tucking golden strands of hair behind my ears. I took little steps and started walking away from the cliff, my head was spinning and turning. I didn't even know which way I was heading until…

"Wanda! What the hell do you think you're doing?" I heard Ian's voice yell.

My eyes widened. Was it… Ian? I turned around, the thumping in my heart was incredibly fast.

But no… it wasn't Ian. It was Kyle.

"Are you trying to kill yourself?" He asked, placing his hand on my right shoulder.

I shook my head. "No," I said stiffly. "But the last time I checked, you were the one trying to kill _me_."

Kyle laughed. "Hey, I apologize didn't I?" I gazed at him – he had the same sapphire-blue eyes as Ian, the same pale skin, almost the same voice… It was hard to stop looking at him. Because he looked like Ian… because he reminded me of Ian. The mere sight of him made my eyes swell up with more tears.

"What the hell are you crying for?" He asked. "C'mon, I already apologized." He raised both arms up. "See? No guns or knives, or any other weapons. I won't kill you. You're one of my friends now."

I was stunned. Was this really Kyle? He seemed… too nice and kind. "Oh." Was all I can say.

"So," Kyle started, gazing out at the view, "Were you planning on jumping off that cliff or what?"

"I wasn't trying to jump off or kill myself okay?" I said. "I was just… reflecting here." I explained.

He grinned. "By reflecting, you mean sulking? Don't sulk, Wanda. It's so… _human_."

I bit my lip. Ian said that to me once. I faced down.

"Hey," Kyle said. "Don't be offended, but by all means, you're not human. So don't cry and sulk."

But I couldn't stop myself. Because I _did_ cry; no, I was _already_ crying... His voice, his words… his aura, was so much like Ian's. And Ian's aura right now was like Kyle's before. Now, it's as if, both of them switched.

Kyle sighed. "C'mon, stop crying already." He nudged my head. "It makes me feel pitiful, seeing you like this…"

I nodded.

"Is this about Ian again?"

"Yeah…"

"What exactly happened? C'mon… you can tell me all about it."

**Ian's POV**

I walked into my room, after having finished doing all of my chores. Lori had been clinging on to me like a baby and its kangaroo and it was nice I had time all to myself now. But when I walked into the dark room, I was surprised to see a familiar face sitting on my bed.

"Sunny? What are you doing here?" I was surprised to see her inside my room. Thank God Jeb had Lori do the chores. I needed space to breathe. "If you're looking for Kyle, he's not here." I said.

"I know…" Sunny replied innocently. "But I'm not looking for Kyle…" She said. "I was looking for _you_…"

"For _me_?" I asked skeptically. This is rare. She never talks to me that much, and now, she wanted to see me?

"Yes." She nodded, approaching my bedside. She lounged a seat next to me. "I… umm, wanted to talk…"

"About what?"

"Well, you see… I am a Soul…"

"Yes, I know that." I said. Where was this conversation heading to?

"We, Souls, are not necessarily human…" She started, "But, regardless of that, we Souls have feelings too… we learn how to love, we learn how to hate… we learn how to feel happy, and we learn how to be sad…"

"Your point?"

"Well, how do I say this?..." Sunny trailed off, thinking. "Do you remember when Wanda was in Melanie's body? And that she had to sacrifice her body's sake just to be with you, even if she was already in love with Jared?"

"Yeah…" I said.

"Well… even if Wanda had another love, she gave up everything – no, she tried her very best to move on and to _unlove_ Jared, so that you can be happy…"

I sighed. "I know that… but…"

Sunny smiled and held her hands in mine. "Ian, I know you weren't serious when you said those things to Wanda… because I know that you love her very much… so, please tell me… what happened… between you and Wanda…"

I shook my head and sighed yet again. "Sunny?" I asked, my voice serious. "Do you love Kyle?"

Sunny smiled and nodded. "Yes, in part because Jodi loves him too… but, loving Kyle is also my feelings. Not just Jodi's. _I'm_ falling in love with Kyle… _me_, the Soul. Not Jodi… but why do you ask?"

I clenched my fist. "Does… does Kyle love you back? Does he treat you good?"

"Yes. Kyle is very protective of me… just like you were to Wanda… oh, I think I know where this conversation's heading to…"

I blinked. "You do?"

Sunny nodded and looked up to me with her silver-colored eyes. The room was dark, but her eyes looked as if they were lit up. "Yes… you know, Wanda's very kind… even _too_ kind, for a Soul. She does everything she can for the people she loves, even if it means risking her own life… Ian, no matter how many times you had yelled and lied to her then, she still loves you, you know. She's always, always talking about you… telling herself it was her fault you didn't love her anymore… Wanda doesn't care if you don't love her back. As long as she knows you care for her, it'll be enough."

I shook my head, and the tears fell out of these eyes of mine. I was so selfish, so stupid and arrogant… I hurt Wanda, the girl I love most in this world. I don't love Lori. I loved her before, but not now. Lori's my past… Wanda's my future… she's my _everything_… and I screwed things up with her…

"I love her." I told Sunny. "I love Wanda… I just couldn't admit it to myself when Lori appeared… because I loved Lori too… but then I realized that these feelings for Lori were not real. They only materialized when I kept telling myself I still loved her…" I bit my lip. Sunny tapped my back. "Wanda…" I cried.

"It's alright." Sunny assured me. "It's not too late."

"But how?!" I said, already yelling. "I lied to her, I told her I didn't love her!"

Sunny smiled. "Don't worry. All of us are here to pitch in. Actually," She grinned. "it was Jared and Jamie's plan to do this. I'm talking to you right now, and Kyle's talking to Wanda right now too… so, don't worry. We have a plan…"

"Thanks, Sunny." I said. "Thanks a lot."

**Wanda's POV**

I felt great. After opening up to Kyle like that. Who knew he was actually very understanding? The two of us were heading back to the main caves again, and Sunny appeared out of nowhere.

"Did you talk to him?" Kyle asked her in a whisper.

"Yes. It's set tomorrow night."

"Great. Jared owes us."

I couldn't really quite make up what they were saying because they were talking really slow and soft. But I did hear the words 'dinner' and 'night'; but I didn't really bother putting the pieces together.

"Hey! Wanda! Kyle! Sunny!" Jamie cried happily, approaching us together with Jared and Melanie. "You missed doing chores and you missed eating lunch too! You guys better go back to the kitchen now or else Jeb will shoot your sorry butts!"

I smiled. "Okay, Jamie. Let's head back then."

"Yeah!"

Jared narrowed her eyes at Kyle and Sunny. I looked back at the two of them, and they were both smiling.

"What are they hiding?" I asked Jamie.

"Beats me," He said.

"Oh." Even though I didn't really bother asking Melanie, I was still curious. When we got back, Jeb was a little furious that we skipped doing chores, but he lightened up when Jamie told him something.

That evening went on like it usually did and I hadn't seen Ian and Lori either. We had dinner, and after dinner, we had another round of soccer, and then after that, we had to sleep; Lori and Ian weren't there at all. By the time Jeb had told everyone to go to their respective rooms to sleep, Jared went up to me and knelt down, his fingers entwining mine.

"J-Jared? What are you doing?"

He pressed a light kiss to my fingers and it made me blush – my cheeks were turning pink and they were burning up. I gulped and looked around, checking to see if Melanie was evident and watching us. _Uh-oh_, I thought. I'm going to be smashed and grinded and killed when Mel sees me.

"Will you have dinner with me tomorrow night?"

I smiled. "Sure we can. But, don't we always have dinner together?"

He sighed. "No, not like that, Wanda. I mean, 'us'. _Only_ the two of 'us'. Not with the others. It's going to be like a date."

I blinked. "Sorry, Jared… I don't know what the date of today is… I'm guessing we're somewhere in January… I lost track of time while I was here."

Jared laughed at my response.

"What?" I asked. "What's so funny?"

"Uh, I guess you don't know what a 'date' is, right? Well, it's going to be hard just _explaining_ it to you… but, just meet me in the cliffs tomorrow night."

I nodded, but I didn't really understand him. His words were so… foreign to me. They were bothering me all night long, and I was thankful that Burns and Nate weren't pushing me to telling them what happened between me and Ian. Telling Kyle _everything_ was enough…

**-***-**

The sunlight passed through the tiny cracks of these caves and flooded everything with brightness. A shaft of light worked its way through my face. I slowly opened my eyes and gently sat up, hoping I wouldn't wake my room buddies.

To my surprise, Sunny and Burns were on my bedside watching me like an eagle seeking its prey.

"Good morning, Wanda!" They both chirped.

"W-What are you two doing here, watching me?" I asked skeptically.

Sunny grabbed the blanket away from me and Burns pulled me up. "C'mon, Wanda!" Sunny said. "We're going shopping today!"

I blinked. "Shopping? We can't shop in these caves!"

Burns laughed. "Well, we're going out to town of course!"

"Are we _allowed_?"

Sunny nodded. "Yes, Wanda! Jared and Kyle already gave us the go-signal! Plus, Jeb's okay with it."

"Are you two sure? This isn't some kind of joke, is it?"

"No it's not, Wanderer." Burns assured.

"Yeah, but, if we go out of town now, won't it take us about two to three days to get back home?"

Burns shook his head. "Nope. Apparently, they built a new shopping center just right out the deserts. It's just a 60 minute drive.

I nodded. "Okay… but is this really okay?"

"Wanda! Stop being suspicious and dress up already! We have to go buy you a nice beautiful evening gown for tonight!"

I gulped. "Evening gown? For what?"

Sunny sighed. "Well, don't you have a date with _someone_ tonight? Someone special?"

Oh yeah. I forgot about Jared! "You mean, Jared?" I laughed. "Jared is Melanie's partner. Not mine. I don't want to steal someone else's lover."

Apparently, Sunny and Burns weren't listening at all. "C'mon Wanda! Hurry!"

"Okay, okay!" I said, sighing. "Fine. If you insist." I took a quick shower and then I dressed up. It was early in the morning and not many people were up yet. I headed to the kitchen but Burns and Sunny pulled me out.

"Aren't we going to have breakfast?" I asked.

"We can have breakfast while we're in town." Sunny said. "We can go eat Chinese or something later. _After_ we buy your gown."

"But I don't want to wear a gown," I complained. They weren't listening. They pulled me to the small cavy corridors and out to the area where the trucks, cars and other vehicles were usually parked secretly.

"Do we really have to do this?" I asked.

"Yes, you do."

I groaned. I wasn't in any mood to go shopping. But two of them insisted and I had to give in. Burns sat in the driver's seat of the van, while Sunny and I sat at the back. Burns had already started the engine when I caught a glimpse of Ian watching us from inside the parking space. I turned away, avoiding his gaze, though I was confused as to why he was there…

It was a long drive, but with talkative Sunny as my companion, the minutes seemed to speed up, and eventually we were out of the deserts and we arrived in town shortly.

The town was called "_Sun Ville_" because it was located very near to the deserts. It was just like every town I've been in – there were malls, shopping centers, small restaurants located in the blocks, other food places, theatre houses and a few mini hospitals. Not very exciting but it was pretty cool to have one near the deserts. I thought how easy it would be to have raids now that the Souls have opened up a shopping central near the desert's borders.

"Think of it as a Soul's-day-out." Sunny said smiling.

I nodded. "This is the first time, right?"

Burns chuckled. "Yup."

The first few hours were spent looking for a decent evening gown. I didn't even help Sunny and Burns look, all I did was sit down and let them do all the work. After a few more minutes, Sunny found a very beautiful one – it was a knee-level fancy and elegant light-pink colored cock-tailed dress, with white frills below the end of the skirt, with gold, pink and silver gems embroidered on the bodice; it looked simple, yet very elegant and beautiful. Like it was that of a princess'.

"It looks beautiful," I said, holding the gown up.

Sunny grinned. "I know, eh? Well, I'm _good_ at picking out clothes."

With that over, we spent the remaining hours having lunch. We didn't have much money anymore (most of them were spent for the gown), so we decided to think cheap – we ate lunch at a fast-food restaurant. After, Sunny insisted we go walk around and look at the different shops since it was a bit too early to decide to go home. Burns and I agreed.

The mini adventure was fun while it lasted, but time flew by so fast, before I knew it, we were back home. It was already 6:15 in the evening when we got back. Jamie was the first to greet us. Melanie, Kyle and Sunny had literally towed me over to Lily and Trudy's room, once I got inside the caves, and they literally pushed me on to a wooden chair and tied me up with ropes.

"W-Wait!" I said, "Where are we going now?"

Melanie smirked. "You have to be pretty and beautiful when you have dinner tonight." She explained.

"You mean, you're not mad?" I asked, my left brow up.

"Mad? What are you talking about?" She looked confused.

"You know, I'm going to be having dinner with _Jared_ tonight."

Melanie frowned. "With Jared? Who said _that_? You're going to be with – ow! Jamie Cut it out!"

Jamie had punched her shoulder lightly. "Mel!" He hissed. "Don't say anything or else you'll blow it!"

I didn't really understand what they were talking about… but I was too sidetracked wondering why Jared would ask me to have dinner with him privately.

"Oh, right." Melanie said, sighing. "Sorry." She grabbed some kind of pink-colored lip gloss and I gasped.

"Wait, don't tell me – you're not putting make-up on me, are you?!" I asked. Lily and Trudy both grabbed my arms and held me still on my seat, as Melanie moved forward, brushing lip-gloss all over my upper lip and back down again. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm going to do, Wanda." She said, giggling.

"Huh?! No! Mel! I don't want to put any foundation! Why do I have to dress up?! It's just _dinner_!" I complained.

"Hold still, Wanda! I'm almost done! _Geez_! Sunny, can you please get the powder?"

Jamie giggled. I gulped.

Sunny nodded and approached us with a small kit. I gulped and feared for the worse. Putting on make-up was terrible. _Especially if Melanie did it_. Her expressions while putting on make-up on your face was sturdy, and you'd be afraid and wonder how you'd come up at the end. I closed my eyes shut, hoping I won't turn up looking like a monster or a witch.

After a few more minutes, the brushing, combing of my hair and powdering on my face stopped. I was guessing they were done, and I opened my eyes slowly. Melanie, Jamie, Lily, Sunny and Trudy were staring at me now.

"Oh my God, Wanda!" Mel said breathless. "You look, beautiful!" She held up a mirror and I looked at my reflection. I saw how I looked… and I looked, _prettier_ than usual. Pet was actually a pretty petite girl, but with make-up on, she looked even… beautiful, and more mature.

"You're pretty." Jamie told me.

"Your level of pretty-ness is equal to mine." Melanie joked.

I laughed. "Thanks."

"Go put on your gown." Melanie said. "Ia – I mean _Jared_, is waiting for you over at the cliffs. Sunny will escort you there."

I put on my evening gown and before I had to go over to the cliffs, I gazed at my reflection one more time and I was satisfied with what I looked. I smiled. But I was so confused as to why I had to wear this oh-so beautiful gown. It's just dinner. _It's so normal, it doesn't need any touch of elegance_, I thought, as Sunny and I slowly made our way to the cliffs.

When we got there, I was completely stunned. On the center of the rocky cliffs, was a table set with two chairs. Everywhere was filled with candles and old Christmas lights that were hung up on the rocks; they must've been Jeb's.

"What is this…?" I asked Sunny.

Sunny grinned. "You'll see." I followed her and she led me towards the table, which was set with two plates, utensils and 2 wine cups. It was beautifully decorated, just like my gown. I felt like I was in a movie-set, acting out a kind of play for unseen audiences. I was caught up to looking around the place, that I hadn't notice Sunny leaving.

"Wait! Sunny?!-"

Before I even had the chance to go after her, I felt a hand right over my shoulder.

"Wanda?"

I froze still. I knew that voice. It was so, familiar… I slowly turned around and saw Ian. I couldn't really see him clearly, because it was dark, but the candle lights illuminated the darkness slowly. Ian's love-filled sapphire-blue eyes were penetrating, and he looked so beautiful, _so_ handsome wearing a black-colored tuxedo, and he was carrying a bouquet of flowers – lilies, to be exact (I knew he picked them up from the field). I was so speechless, I tried to speak, but no words came out. It felt like everything was surreal, as if it was all just a dream, and Ian was my prince…

"I'm so sorry…" I heard him whisper. _Such simple words_. Simple sincere words that were coming from Ian… I felt the tears run down quickly. And that's when I realized, that I wasn't going to have dinner with Jared. I was going to have it with _Ian_. It was all just a set up; that's why Sunny and Mel wanted me to wear this gown, that's why they went through all the trouble to do this for me… He gave the bouquet of lilies to me, and he knelt down, just like Jared did to me last night.

"Forgive me?"

* * *

**Author's Ramblings: **I really appreciate you guys for reviewing my story! I hope you all will continue doing it! Because I have to tell you that I love recieiving reviews! Haha. It makes me soo happy; just a single review, telling me how much you like the story, makes my day! Happy 2009, by the way! Lots of love, modernxlove-. The next chapter might take a while, but I'm on the process of writing it.


	4. Dinner & Apologies

**Author's Notes: **I am truly very sorry for the slow update, everyone! It's been almost four months since my last update, but I have a really good excuse! You see, my computer broke down, and once it was fixed, I had written about five pages of this chapter. Unfortunately, I hadn't gotten rid of the virus, so all of the files just vanished. I had to re-write those pages again, and by the time I had written two paragraphs, I was tired and I didn't really feel up to it. I'm a complete 'lazy bum' you see. Haha.

This chapter has a lot of grammatical errors, and re-run sentences, probably because I didn't feel up to editing it. Everything you see here has been typed once without re-reading it. It hasn't been polished yet, but I hope it's good enough. Truth be told, I was about to give upon this fanfic (I had a really bad case of Writers Block), but thanks to the persistent tug of my faithful reviewers, I had fought my laziness and continued to keep writing. So keep reviewing and tell me what you think of "Forever Dawn"!

The theme song for this chapter is "Fall For You" by Secondhand Serenade. Yes, I'm an SS addict! But their album now!

* * *

"_Hold your breathe because tonight will be the night_

_that I will fall for you, over again._

_Don't make me change mind,_

_Or I won't live to see another day._

_I swear it's true._

_Because a girl like you is impossible to find._

_You're impossible to find."_

_- "Fall For You" by Secondhand Serenade_

* * *

"_**-Forever Dawn-"**_

_**Chapter Three: Dinner & Apologies**_

_By, __modernxlove-_

"Forgive me?" His tone was soft yet serious, low yet meaningful. He said it slowly, yet precisely.

I looked at him straight in the eyes. It was as blue as I'd always remembered it, filled with love, and with no hint of doubt. I was confused. How weird humans were… Should I forgive him? It wasn't his fault after all… he was only human. Humans were prone to making mistakes, prone to betrayal and deception. But what Ian did hurt. Not only did he lie to me, he lied to _himself_. He denied me. I looked down. But…

_Maybe it wasn't just Ian's fault_, I thought. _Maybe I'm to blame too_. Maybe Ian did all of that because I was always acting jealous. Maybe Ian hates jealous women. I sighed at all the possibilities.

"I… I don't know…" I said. "Is it worth it?"

Ian frowned and he took a step closer to me, grabbing my hand gently. I shoved it.

"No." I said, gritting my teeth, trying to stop the tears from swelling up. "_No_…"

"Wanda…" He whispered. "Please, Wanda… _give_ me another chance. I'm sorry. I'm really _very_ sorry… I've never been sorry about anything in my life. Please…" He choked out. I looked at him again, and for the first time, he looked… almost anxious. He was afraid, and at the same time sad. I could see a tear trickle down his face. I took a deep breath. I had to calm myself because I felt like I wanted to cry too. I felt like I wanted to cry every tear inside.

"I know what I did and said was wrong," Ian continued, the words flowing fast as he sobbed. "And I'm sorry. I know apologizing isn't enough, Wanda. And I know that I owe you, much, much more than this. But please…" He knelt down again. "All I'm asking is for you to forgive me. I feel sick and nasty for hurting you, Wanda. I feel sick to the _core_… and this _isn't_ a miserable excuse about feeling guilty. _I swear_, I –"

"_Stop_," I said, interrupting him, my voice croaking out. "Please… stop… I can't… take it anymore… stop apologizing…" Ian stared at me with agonizing eyes, and I tried to find the right words to stop his pain. Whenever he was hurt, _I_ was hurt. And I couldn't stand seeing him like this. They were extremely hard words to say. But I had to do this right away. I didn't want him to feel hurt or guilty in any way. Being sad doesn't fit him. But I didn't want _him_ to hurt _me_ anymore. And _I _didn't want to hurt _him_.

"Ian," I said, starting with his name. Saying it made my throat hurt. "I'm sorry…" I said. It came out. _Finally_. "I shouldn't be the one to forgive you. _You_ should be the one to forgive _me_.

Ian's eyes widened in shock. His face was expressionless and dazed. He quickly stood up. "_Sorry_? _You're_ sorry?" He asked, his voice saturated with innocent surprise. "For what? Wanda… I'm the one who's supposed to do the apologizing here. _Not_ you, alright?" He grinned a little, slowly wiping his tears.

I smiled. I missed his grin. Smiling fits him so much better than frowning. "Because," I sniffed. "Because… I was jealous while you were with Lori… I was always jealous Ian. Because I felt that you didn't love me anymore… and I only wanted you all to myself. I was jealous and selfish. And you _hate_ jealous women –" My sentence was abruptly cut off as I felt his lips on mine. He was kissing me, sweetly and surely. He cupped my face with his right hand; I felt my cheeks flush, as his tongue swirled around my mouth. It was the second most romantic moment for me (the first one was the moment I was transferred into another Host, and Ian kissed me passionately, not caring about the people watching).

"Oh… you two are so… _lovey-dovey_!" I heard Jamie's voice complain. "Just like Mel and Jared. _Ugh_. Seriously… the world gets enough of _that_ already." He chuckled.

Ian and I broke apart, flushed; embarrassed as we both turned around. Jamie, - wearing a an old pair of jumper suit with a loose red-colored T-shirt (must have been Jared's since it was obviously too loose for him) - looked at us with a disgusted expression, but quickly replaced it with a smile. "Hey Ian! Hey Wanda!" He greeted cheerfully, handing Ian and I two pieces of cardboard. "C'mon," He shrugged. "What are you two waiting for? Sit down." He ordered playfully.

Ian and I did what he told us to do.

Jamie frowned. "Umm, did I interrupt an important moment? This feels awkward."

"_No_," Ian lied, rolling his eyes, sarcasm evident in his voice. "You didn't."

"That's… good. I _suppose_." Jamie replied, grinning. "Anyways, Mel and the others said I could be your waiter and your host tonight, so I'll start off by getting your orders. C'mon… tell me what you want to eat," He grabbed a piece of crumpled paper from his side pocket and a pencil, "Take a look at your menu, which is the cardboard pieces I had handed out earlier… and, take your pick."

I took a look at the menu, a crumply yellow-colored cardboard piece, cut unequally. It had Jamie and Melanie's fanciest handwriting in the middle, laying out the possible food choices:

_Tonight's Menu :_

Toasted Bread with Ham & Cheese

A cup of Wine

That was one _whole_ lot of a menu. It seemed more like snack, than dinner. From the front, I could hear Ian sigh. Well, once your living (err, I meant, _hiding_) down in the caves, being the last of the Human Resistance (that had nothing to do with me), these issues about food being scarce wasn't entirely a problem.

"Uh, kid?" Ian asked, gesturing Jamie to come closer. "Is this _all_ there is?"

Jamie nodded. "Yup." Then he inched closer and whispered, "Well, we still have left-over Salad from last week, but I think it's probably… uh, _rotten_ right now. Unless you want to take the risks…"

"No, that's fine." Ian and I said in unison. I looked at him, and he looked back at me. For a few seconds, we were staring at each other in silence, and with Jamie standing close. _Awkward_, I thought briefly. _Very awkward_. I decided that I would be the first to break away.

"I think I'll have two orders of everything." Ian said, finally.

"Uh-huh." Jamie said, scribbling our orders down, though it was too short of a menu to need memorizing. "Is that all?" He asked, making sure.

Ian laughed. "Well, you only have two foods listed on the menu - unless you magically wish for a whole banquet, which would be great; but entirely impossible."

I smiled. I wanted to giggle and laugh, and mingle with them, but I felt too awkward to do it; I felt too self-conscious at the moment, because with every movement being made, Ian eyed me. Jamie left, as soon as he told us to make ourselves feel comfortable. "I'll come back in a bit with your meal," He had said. Like before, Ian and I were alone again.

"Where did we last left off?" Ian suddenly asked, breaking a minute of silence. He smiled at me sweetly, "Oh yeah." He said, as if fitting two puzzled pieces together. He held both my hand and entwined them to his, as he leaned forward to kiss me. "We were here…" He kissed me so tenderly, so passionately, with the sweetest way possible. It's as if we never had a fight in the first place; it felt as if everything had been a dream and I never wanted to wake up from it. But eventually, we would have to break apart. And so he did.

"Wanda, you don't… understand do you?" He breathed. "_I'm_ the one who should be moping and bawling, _and_ apologizing. _I_ made the mistake, Wanda. I screwed up our relationship, and I'm very sorry…" He gazed at me, his brows scrunched up with sadness, his brilliant blue eyes penetrating with apologies, and his features just begging for forgiveness. "I'm sorry that I lied to you and denied you in front of everyone… it's just that, I was _so_ confused. You see…" He looked down, unable to look me in the eye for some reason. Was he… crying again? I clenched my fist out of habit. "Lori was my first love." Ian explained, still looking down. "Six years ago, I was sure that she was the _one_ for me. She was beautiful, kind, talented; in short, she was the perfect girl for me." His eyes tightened and his lips started to curl, turning paler than it already was.

"It was the day before people started disappearing, that I decided to take her hand in marriage. I was only twenty back then, but you see, I was _so_ in love, I didn't care if others didn't approve of our relationship. But…" He frowned.

"But what?" I asked, though I was frightened by the edge in his voice.

He sighed. "She just… disappeared. I searched everywhere. I couldn't find her. And then strange things started happening; everyone we knew started acting strange – our parents, cousins, old friends – what Kyle and I faced was Hell. And so Jared found us, and took us to Jeb's hideaway, which was here. When we found out about Souls and other whatnots, I assumed then that Lori might've been captured. I was a real mess, you know. That's why for the past six years, I lived on, despising you Souls."

I shivered at the thought of Ian looking enraged, killing innocent Souls. Ian placed a hand on my cheek.

"Well, of course, everything changed when I met _you_." He smiled, and I couldn't help but smile too.

"So, when I met Lori again, this time," He went on, "I was never shocked and confused than I was at the time we encountered her. It was a real heart-beating experience for me; What would you do if you encountered your long lost love standing right in front of you, while you have another love standing behind you?"

I nodded. I knew what it felt like. With Jared,_ and_ with Ian. It was a pain that tore me apart. But I didn't need my old love anymore; because my new love had suppressed me with lighter feelings; and that was _Ian_. He was all I needed, and I could never ask for more.

"That's one huge mistake I made," Ian confessed. "I forced myself – no, I lied to myself, actually – thinking that I was still in love with Lori; when it was already clear that I'm in love with you, Wanderer, and only _you_.–"

"Ian," I interrupted,

"Don't interrupt me, Wanda… because everyone was right. Because _you_ were right. Even though if the situation was like that, I should've known better than to hurt you. You're the only girl I love, Wanderer. I'll say it again; I _love_ you and I _mean_ it."

My eyes filled with tears, and one trickled down my cheek as I blinked. I quickly wiped them off. "The most important thing for me, Ian," I muttered. "Is that you're _here_, beside me…" More tears formed its way, and I was surprised that Ian started tearing up too. "I don't ever want to lose you again." I told him.

"Me neither." He agreed. "I don't even know why I did it… but those past few days, I longed to hold you in my arms, kiss you, and never let go. We've been so far away those past few days, and all those times, I felt like I was dying…"

I nodded.

"Do you forgive me now?" He asked sincerely.

"Yes, Ian." I said with a tiny grin. "I _do_ forgive you… but only if you forgive me for being jealous…"

Ian laughed. "Alright, I forgive you, Wanderer, though I wasn't even mad at you from the beginning." He kissed my left hand gently.

Then I heard footsteps coming closer. It was Jamie, carrying two big plates of food. "Here you go! Two plates of ham and cheese sandwich!" He declared, placing the plates gently on the small table. "Are you two enjoying the evening? Please say 'Yes'… Mel would kill me if I was a bad host for you two…"

I laughed. "So this was all just a set-up, huh?" I asked, taking a good look at the beautiful Christmas lights flickering a red and green color.

Jamie nodded. "It was Mel and Jared's idea, actually. So, did you two make up?" He asked. "Wait, seeing that kiss earlier, I bet you probably did, huh?" He asked suspiciously.

I felt my cheeks burn.

"Yes," Ian chuckled. "Your plan did work. It helped Wanda and I settle _everything_."

Jamie grinned a big grin. "Awesomeness!" He raved. "Well, I guess I should leave you guys alone…" He decided, already heading down. "But be sure to put your dishes back to the kitchen!" He yelled, already taking off. He mumbled something, but I couldn't quite make out what it was.

It was a good dinner. Ian and I ate silently at first, then we started talking, our conversations going on about the moment I first came to the caves, to the day I was inserted to Pet's body.

"Are you done with your food?" He asked, with a smile. "Because the night is still young, and this _date_ isn't finish yet."

I nodded, but I'll admit, I was sort of shocked. I thought this was only dinner… was I wrong… I was even more shocked when Ian stood up from his chair, came over to my side, and picked me up on his arms. He looked like a prince in a romantic movie. He smiled at me.

"Um, but what about the flowers?" I asked, pointing at the boquet of lilies rested on top of the table.

"Don't worry," He assured. "We'll come back for them later."

"Okay." I said, leaning onto his chest.

"You look beautiful tonight," He said, kissing my hair.

I blinked, feeling the blood rush yet again through my cheeks. Darn it! Why do I keep blushing?! I placed both hands over my face, trying to hide my blush. I felt self-conscious all of a sudden. Ian was still carrying me in his arms. He laughed at my expression.

"What?" I asked, hands still clasped over my face.

He laughed again. "I like it when you blush." He admitted to me. "You look so cute. Like a doll."

I frowned. "A doll?" Is this what he compared me to?

"No, no. Not like _that_." Ian corrected. He kissed my cheek. "I didn't mean it literally. I meant you're the cutest person I've ever met."

I was blushing madly now. I closed my eyes shut, hoping Ian wouldn't be able to see my face through the dim lights.

"You're blushing again?" He asked, curiously.

I didn't answer.

I opened one eye to peek at him. He was smiling, I suppose, trying to hide his huge grin. "Ian," I complained.

"Don't hide it." He said. "But I attract you, don't I?" He teased.

I didn't answer again.

"Wanda…"

"You do." I confessed.

He laughed. I noticed only recently, but whenever Ian laughs with Kyle or with Jared, it was a hard forced laugh. But when he was with me, it was soft and filled with… happiness. _Is it love? _Is he happy when he's with me?

"Ian, do I make you happy?" I asked innocently.

He smiled. "Yes, you do, Wanda. More than anymore in the world."

I smiled. "I see."

"I love you."

"Me too."

Ian carried me slowly away from the dinner site, and near the rocky edges that led to a small waterfall. Even without the lights illuminating it, the pale, bright moon above was enough. We sat down on the rocks, and I felt my heart beating with so many emotions as I watched the sky, filled with a million stars. Up there, I've been wandering around the galaxy aimlessly, trying to find a world where I would stay permanently, trying to find a partner I would stay for. Earth was the _one_. Ian was the _one_. I felt happiness, joy, love, comfort, and forgiveness rush through me. It was the most amazing feeling in the world, being with the person you love.

"It's beautiful," I breathed, taking the scenery all in.

Ian held me close to him, I leaned to him lightly. It was a cozy, secure position. The top of my hair was leveled to his chin, and he leaned over lightly as well. For several minutes, we stayed like this, staring quietly at the glorious display of stars.

"It's really beautiful, isn't it?" Ian whispered almost reverently.

"Yes," I agreed.

"And you've been wandering up there…" He pointed up, "looking for a place…"

I nodded. "I was always alone… seeking my Partner… seeking for a place where I'd truly belong… until I came here, and until I met _you_." As I said those words, a dying star streaked across the velvet sky, leaving a trail of stardust on its wake. It was a shooting star. The first time I've seen one in a long time.

"There goes a shooting star," I muttered.

"Let's wish for something, hurry." Ian whispered.

I closed my eyes shut, took one deep breath, and made my wish. _I wish Ian and I would be together, always._ I released a heartfelt sigh, and opened my eyes. The star traveled fast, and in a matter of moments, it passed, and disappeared into the thickness of the night.

Ian, held me tighter to him. I blinked in surprise. "Ian?"

"I was just… thinking." He said softly. "Thinking about how much I love you… I sometimes forget to say it, but I truly do love you, Wanda."

"Yes, Ian. I know." I said, closing my eyes, as the tears threatened to flow again. These emotions are really strong…

"I love everything about you, Wanderer. The way you smile, the way you giggle, the way you blush," He continued, kissing me, "the way you help everyone with your kind soul…the way you frown, the way you pout, the way you look at me… _I love you_… more than you possibly could ever imagine."

His lips met mine, and his fingers slid through my back, combing through the thickness of this body's golden hair, until it rested in the bottom. His lips were sweet against mine, exhaling closely. I felt a bit light-headed, but probably because of the wine. His thumb stroked gently against my cheek… and at the moment, I closed my eyes, losing control of everything…

_Rains of kisses…_

_Hands entwining…_

_Limbs clashing…_

_Bodies pulling together…_

I sighed in defeat.


	5. Reactions: Part One

**Author's Notes: **Holy cow… I can't _believe_ it – 32 reviews! Am I blind or what?! (gasps) This is so awesome! Receiving your reviews makes me really happy – it feels like I'm meeting Edward Cullen or Ian O'Shea in real life! Haha. xD [The shout-outs to the reviewers are all the way down _there_].

Anyways, I just need to answer a certain question; this will be quick, or maybe not…

So, some of you have been asking me why the characters in this story have totally different personalities compared to the book, and why the plotline doesn't have _anything_ to do with the original storyline.

**The answer is simple**. I am _NOT_ Stephenie Meyer, and I just _can't_ follow the 'rules' she set for the story. After all, this isn't the real deal or anything, it's _fanfiction_; have you not seen the headline banner? It says "_Unleash you imagination_". Stephenie Meyer gets all the credits since she is the creator of all the characters (not to mention, the book), but I had to alter most of their personalities to go with my story. I know that the first bit of the story seems a little flaky and wacky, but this is _my_ fanfiction story; _not_ Stephenie Meyer's. If you want the original thing, go grab the book. No one's forcing you to read this. I wrote this fic because I love Ian/Wanda. Not because I wanted this to be the sequel or anything like that. Pshh. xD

Hopefully, that answered most of it. By the way, the theme song for this chapter is "Look After You" by The Fray; a really, really great song! Go listen to it!

* * *

"_If I don't say this now, I will surely break._

_As I'm leaving the one I want to take._

_Forgive the urgency, but hurry up and wait._

_**My heart has started to separate**__."_

_- "Look After You" by The Fray_

* * *

"_**-Forever Dawn-"**_

_**Chapter four: Reactions (Part One)**_

_By, __modernxlove-_

**- Ian's POV -**

A bright shaft of sunlight made its way through the holes of the moldy cave, and shone mildly on my face. Morning, already? _That's weird_, I thought. The last time I checked, It was evening, and Wanda and I were having our special dinner. _Wanda_. That's right! She had forgiven me. Thank God… My life is perfect; well, _almost_ perfect. Later, I had decided that I would tell Lori _everything_ – How I don't love her like I used to, and how Wanda's the only girl for me. It would all be fine, no matter what her reaction was. I cringed a little at the thought of it.

The light that had shone its way over to my face turned evenly brighter. It seemed odd, how blinding and clear it was through these caves. It felt like, I was _outside_.

I turned to the other side, hoping the sun wouldn't reach me, but to no avail. It was as clear and bright – not to mention _hot_ – as ever. I reached for my shirt and found out I wasn't wearing anything but a pair of unzipped jeans, and horrified, my eyes still closed shut, moved my way slowly, to the left, and felt something oddly soft. Like a pillow, but not as delicate, warm, but not hot. Was I dreaming? Was this all just a dream?

And that's when it occurred to me.

I opened my eyes. It was definitely wide opened now, and what I saw made my heart skip a beat.

That's when I realized: I wasn't inside the caves; I was _outside_, where the dinner was set last night! And beside me wasn't some pillow, it was _Wanda_, wearing _only _my jacket (which was used for my tuxedo last night) and _nothing_ else! Her gown was tossed somewhere in the rocks, together with my dress shirt. She was sleeping peacefully, eyes closed, leaning onto my bare chest now, completely oblivious to our situation. What the hell happened last night? All I remembered was seeing some shooting star, and images of Wanda smiling and blushing.

What. The. Hell?

_Okay, calm down Ian_. I told myself. _Maybe I can sort this out, somehow_…

The first question was, how the hell did we end up here, in an awkward position like this?! I looked up and down at my bare profile, and looked back at Wanda, who was still sleeping peacefully. The second question is, did we do _it_?

I tried to recall everything that had happened last night, forcing my brain to remember _every_ single detail.

A flashback rose and scattered itself proportionally into my quivering mind.

_It was night time. Yes, right after the star gazing. After I'd confessed to Wanda, telling her how perfect she is to me, and how much I loved her. I kissed her, and then, I remember feeling light-headed… a bit, woozy, because of the wine._

_Kyle came, interrupting the moment._

_I was about to punch him, but Wanda came to his defense. I stopped._

_I looked down at Wanda. She had this bashful expression like she didn't know what was going on. I cupped her face with my hand, and brushed the golden hair behind. She giggled. I pressed my lips on hers… I tried to fight the sobering feeling the wine had affected me. _

_I lost._

_Wanda gasped onto my mouth. I was sure she would pull away, but she forced to move closer. My fingers dug into her hips, gently, wanting so badly to pull her closer to me… I didn't mind it if Kyle was there. All I wanted was to be with Wanda… that all that mattered at the moment._

_I felt my head spinning. Then everything turned dark._

The flashback ended there. It was all my mind knew. Or _all_ my mind _wanted_ me to know. I gazed back at Wanda, and frowned. Would she be upset if she woke up and realized the situation?

"GET UP, LAZY BUMS!" Jeb's voice boomed from the inside, and I shuddered. "Up, up, up! Time for chores, chores and _more_ chores! I don't keep you here for free! Get your butts out here and start workin'!" He shouted. "But get some chow first," he added as an afterthought.

Even from here, I could hear the moans and grunts, and complaints of the people inside, who had no choice but to get up from sleep. I gulped. Sooner or later, they would _all_ be out here… and Wanda and I would be the center of talk.

"C'MON!" Jeb pressed, his voice still booming. "Get out here or I'll have no choice but to shoot ya! Up, up, and at 'em! Burn the fuel! Times a'wasting!"

Wanda jumped a little from her sleeping position and turned to look at me with wide sliver eyes. "Ian?" She said innocently, still half asleep, as she sat up. I blushed furiously seeing her bare chest and turned away immediately.

"Um.. Wanda," I started to say…

She blinked in confusion, and then looked down. She gasped and covered herself using her arms, but to no avail. "Ian… what happened? Why are we outside? Why are we… _naked_?" She shrieked. Her cheeks flushed a shade of red. She trembled slightly, clasping her hands to her mouth, and I put my hand on her shoulder. I couldn't imagine how confusing and terrifying this all must be to her.

I shook my head. "Not sure. I'll apologize later wh-"

"Ian? Wanda? You two still sleeping?" I heard Lily and Trudy's voice echoing from the caves, cutting my sentence short. The voices grew clearer and I realized they were heading outside. With my heart beating fast in panic, I forced Wanda gently beside me.

"Ian! What now?" She demanded, her voice shaking.

"We just have to get out of here." I said, sweeping her off her feet, as I carried her in my arms. I decided we should head for an abandoned place – a place where no one would be at the start of day. And there's no place but the cache where we place the hidden vehicles we used for raids. Surely, neither Jared nor Melanie would be there. If there _was_ a raid, I would have been notified. But then, it would be too risky leaving these caves. I sighed. What about the pool? Yes, the pool! _That's it_, I thought. Then maybe we'll have an excuse for being naked.

"First, we have to wait till everybody gets outside… and then we can _sneak_ in."

Wanda nodded, though she still wouldn't look me in the eye.

"IAN! WANDA!" Jeb shouted from inside. "Get your lazy asses to work! I believe there's a field to be done and clothes to be washed!!" He was probably knocking in our bedroom, and knowing Jeb, if none of us were to reply in a few seconds, he would burst the door and shatter it. I started running as fast as I could, and started cursing under my breath.

Wanda frowned. "Ian… Jeb's _angry_." She muttered.

"Let him be." I replied. "Let's just go with the flow first." I ran towards the main caves with Wanda tucked in my arms, and decided to take a shortcut since it'd be the fastest way, and just as I was entering the end of the tunnel, someone came running towards us and I knocked him down, accidentally.

_Thump!_

"Hey, watch where you're going next time!" Two voices joint together shouted in annoyance.

I flinched in realization that I had accidentally hit someone; two persons, actually. I looked up and my jaw dropped. It wasBrandt and Aaron. _Great_. Just the two I needed right now. I froze in silence. I felt Wanda tremble.

"I'm.. s-s-sorry," I stuttered, terror evident in my voice. "Umm.. we were just… passing by and…" I ended there, not knowing what else to say.

I could se both Brandt's and Aaron's eyes roll. They were grinning right now; they were grinning so hugely it looked like it hurt their faces. Then, the expression turned into a scowl.

"Um.. I f-felt t-the urge to.. um, to take a bath." Wanda finished, stammering flatly. She was such a bad liar. _Anybody_ could see through _that_.

I groaned, but went along. "Yeah." I said, "Now, if you'll excuse us… we'll be going over to the bathroom…"

"Not so fast," Brandt said, pulling me back.

"_Yeah_." Aaron agreed. "As if we'll believe _that_ lame excuse." He snorted. I could just imagine the motivations behind such words.

I shot a panicked glance back at Wanda, who turned back to stare at me, her eyes just alarmed as mine. I had to do something quick. "What excuse?" I asked, sheepishly. "There _is_ no excuse!" I struggled to get Wanda and me out of this situation. Apparently, my attempt had been in vain. Brandt and Aaron could not be tricked.

Brandt rolled his eyes, ignoring my last sentence. "Ian, you're sick."

"I am _not_!" I argued.

"Then why are you two half naked? Well, _almost_ naked, I mean."

I glared at him. "It was hot."

"Then why are you carrying Wanda, while you two are almost _naked_?" He emphasized the last words, and I shuddered.

"Because I want to," I reasoned. "Plus, we were just heading into bath so-"

"You did _it_, didn't you? He asked cautiously.

The two were smirking now. I felt my cheeks redden up. I bit my lip, embarrassed. I didn't even know if Wanda and I had done _it_. "Um…"

Aaron laughed. "Ohh Ian, Ian, _Ian_… And here I was, thinking _you_ were a _gentleman_."

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up, Aaron; unless you want to be beaten to a pulp." I took a quick glance at Wanda and winked, gesturing to her that everything was a joke. I knew how much she hated violence. She looked away in response and I frowned. Just as I was about to reassure her that everything was fine, I felt a strong hand place itself on my shoulder. I turned to look.

"Now _you_, O'Shea, _better_ get to work, before _I_ beat you to a _pulp_." I jumped at the sound of the voice. It was Jeb and his threats again. He was frowning and I can see the same angry look in his eyes whenever someone disobeys his orders.

"Y-Yes, sir." I said. Brandt and Aaron snorted at my response.

"Brandt, Aaron," Jeb demanded.

"Y-Yes, Jeb?" The two asked, now beside me.

"Get back to the field and start plowing!"

They ran off and did as they were told.

Jeb's eyes carefully traced over to Wanda's. "I believe there's some laundry and dishes to be washed and cleaned, Wanda. Get to them, _immediately_."

Wanda nodded. "Of course, Jeb."

He smiled at her and then he turned to look back at me again. "Do reckless things like _that_ after chores, Ian." He said, looking at Wanda and I cautiously. And with that, he strolled back to the main caves. I sighed. Now, it was just me and Wanda.

"Do you want to walk or should I carry you halfway to our room?" I asked her.

Wanda smiled. "I'll walk."

I smiled back. "Should've known." I muttered, gently putting her down.

We got to our rooms quickly without much interference, though we did make a short stop at the bathroom/pool. Wanda had said that to start a day fresh, one must be clean; maybe Souls use that phrase a lot. But Wanda wasn't just a Soul. She was perfectly _human_ to me. I sat down on the mattress, and Wanda lounged a seat next to me. I pulled her to my chest and gave her a light kiss on the forehead.

"Hey… Ian?"

"Yeah?"

"Is it really true… about what Brandt and Aaron said…" She trailed off, then continued, "Did we really do _it_? The _reproduction activity_, I mean?"

I snorted. "Reproduction activity?"

She nodded. "Or what you humans call it; making babies? Or something like that. I think it starts with an 'S' word? Or was it an 'F' or an 'X'?"

I laughed. "You're close… but for your sake, let's not mention the name."

She nodded. "So.. did we really do _it_?"

I shook my head. "I'm not really sure, Wanda… I don't remember much from last night."

She frowned. "I see…"

I cupped her right cheek lightly with my hand. "That doesn't really matter…" I said, looking at her; her silver-gray eyes swelling up with love. "All I know is that you're beautiful. I will probably always regret for hurting you the way I did… I love you. More than you'll ever know."

"I love you, too." She replied. I felt my heart flutter. I kissed her cheek and she laid her head on my chest. We stayed in that position for a few seconds.

"Do you think we should go back outside and do the chores first?" Wanda asked suddenly. "I mean, Jeb _did_ threaten us earlier."

I grinned. "Don't worry about Jeb, Wanda." I said. "He's just messing around." I took her hand and entwined them to my own, feeling the warmth of her fingers radiating to mine. "I'd rather spend time with _you_."

She blushed. "Ian," She complained.

"_Alright_." I said, frowning. "If you think _chores_ are more important than spending time with _me_, and if you think _Jeb's_ more important than me _too_…" I trailed off. I didn't mean them. It was a joke.

Wanda shook her head. "No, Ian! That's not what I meant."

I frowned again, but I was grinning widely inside. "Yeah? Then what _did_ you mean?"

She looked down. "I… don't know…"

"Does that mean you don't want me anymore?" I countered.

She bit her lip. "Aww, Ian. You don't play fair.

"You're hurting my feelings…" I forced a frown.

"I'm sorry…" She said sincerely. "But… we really, don't live here for free… we owe Jeb." She explained.

I sighed. "Fine."

"What can I do to _un-hurt_ your feelings?"

I grinned. "Kiss me."

She clasped her hands to her cheeks. "Okay…" She said. She inched closer and leaned, placing her lips to mine softly. She brushed them back and forth, and then stopped, breaking the kiss apart. "There." She said, smiling sweetly. "You got your wish… now can we please go?"

I shrugged. "Sure."

-***-

The sun was scorching hot – maybe because we were in the deserts, but there was something about this day that made the heat even worse. As usual, I was outside, plowing the fields while Wanda was inside doing the dishes. It's sort of funny for me, because without her by my side, time always seemed to pass slowly for me; that's why my mornings always seem to drag. If I could have it my way, I would spend all my time with her. But with Wanda's fragile and delicate features, I will not allow her to strain herself with these strenuous activities. It was always a dilemma I was always struggling with, since she was – I have to admit – _stubborn_.

I let out a breath and wiped the sweat that was already dripping.

Today, I would tell Lori the whole truth. I don't care what her reaction would be; like it or not, she'd have to accept the fact that I'm in love with someone not of my species. I was still pondering about things while I got to the last part of the field.

"Hey, O'Shea!" Jared called out to me. He strode towards me with easy steps.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Did you and Wanda make up?"

I nodded and smiled. "It was your idea, right?"

"It was actually Mel's." He corrected.

I held my hand out and shook his. "Thanks for doing this, man."

He made a face. "Don't you dare get all soft, or so help me, O'Shea." He chuckled; a joke. "No problem."

"So," He eventually continued, "What are you going to do about that girl?"

"You mean Lori?" I asked.

He nodded.

I shrugged. "I'll tell her the truth. Surely, I'm no longer in love with her. I've found someone new – someone better."

"You sound like a man-whore." Someone replied.

I felt someone standing behind us, from the giant shadow he was casting in front. It was _Kyle_, I guessed. Kyle laughed at my expression. "What?" He asked.

"Nothing."

"Kyle," Jared muttered, "Your nose looks crooked today." He said, changing subjects.

Kyle grunted. "Shut up, Jared."

I snorted. "That's direct. But isn't his nose always crooked?"

Jared shook his head. "Now that he's sweating heavily, the crookedness shows. It looks even worse, like a horse smashed his face."

I buried my face in my hands, trying to control my laughter.

Jared smirked. "Funny, huh? I know, it's a good one. But it's just the truth." He pointed out. "And the truth _always_ hurts."

Kyle frowned and shoved Jared with the rake. "Jared, you stupid ass." He commented. "Stop mocking other people and mind your own life."

I laughed.

"That's enough plowing for today!" Jeb announced, flatly. "Ya'll can take your water break. And after, we can all go to the game room and play ball." Everyone cheered. As Lily, Melanie, Sunnt and Wanda exited the kitchen and came out with bottles of water in their hands. Wanda approached me, and I greeted her with a kiss. She held out a bottle of water. "Here," She offered me.

I smiled. "Thanks."

Nate and Burns, along with Andy, Trudy and Violetta, came over to us, and sat down where Mel had laid a big cloth for us to rest on. Nate finished all of his drink in one gulp, then he requested for more, until he finished three bottles. After he was satisfied, he lied down on his back and let out a sigh.

"That old man Jeb lets you guys work too much… I mean, in our previous cave, we didn't do much at all. We did mostly raids." He said.

Jared snorted. "Maybe that's why your place didn't stand well during rainy days."

"You're such a know-it-all, Howe." Kyle mocked.

Jared laughed. "Not as much as you are."

"Shut up, Jared!" Melanie countered. "You've been sarcastic the whole day. Ease it up, will you?"

"Babbyyyyyy…." He complained.

"I said, 'shush!'" She growled.

Everyone laughed.

Wanda, Sunny and Burns were having their own talk. I guess it was kind of a 'Soul' thing, so I decided to stay out of it. Wanda was smiling and laughing with them; I decided it was best not to interfere.

"Hey, Ian!" Kyle called.

"What?"

"Get us some more bottles of water."

I rolled my eyes. "And why should I?"

"Because you're my little brother. And I'm the oldest one."

Wanda quickly stood up. "Umm, I can get it…" I frowned. She shouldn't force herself.

"It's fine, Wanda," I said, looking at her. "I can do it."

"B-But,"

"No buts." I interrupted. "I needed to get something from the kitchen, anyways." I sighed.

Wanda nodded, but she was frowning. "Are you sure you don't want help Ian?" She tilted her head, waiting for my reply. It was such a human gesture, and she looked so adorable.

I smiled. "I'll be fine."

She smiled back, before taking a seat. "Okay."

I stood up and walked my way to the kitchen. As I passed by the others, I saw a glimpse of Lori amongst the crowds of people. She was sitting on the rocks all alone. She looked sad and miserable. I decided that maybe now was the time to tell her. I walked over towards her, and judging from the faraway look in her eyes, she didn't notice me.

"Lori," I called to her, as I sat down beside her.

She smiled. "Ian! You're here! I was looking for you everywhere…" She paused. "Um, were you with….?"

I nodded.

"Why?" She bit her lip. "I thought you loved me?"

I shook my head. "That's right, Lori. I _thought_ I loved you. Looks like I'm in love with someone else."

She gasped and stood up quickly. She grabbed my sleeve and she shoved me to her. "Tell me everything, Ian O'Shea." She demanded, her voice cold. "That alien or me?"

* * *

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	6. Reactions: Part Two

**Author's Notes: **Whoa. So it's been months since I last updated. Yep, I seriously got a knack for slow updates. I'm becoming a professional! Haha. I apologize—_seriously_—for those who got sick of waiting for this chapter to arrive. I'm really, very sorry. It's just that, those few months have been totally hectic. First, summer arrived and I was tackling between my summer activities (hey, I have a life too, you know), and there came Michael Jackson's death—which just about wrecked the whole summer for me. I love Michael Jackson! *sniffles* such a great lost. After he died, my whole inspiration just vanished.

…but then people just kept reviewing and reviewing this story! Look! 47 reviews already! _Oh my gosh_. This is just too awesome! Thanks for supporting me, guys! Your reviews have totally brought back my love for writing.

This chapter's sort of crappy. _Really_. I wrote it when I wasn't in the mood, but I really had to do it. This story's still so far away from the ending! More troubles to come, more heartbreaks and blahblahblah still has to come knocking down the doorway! Well, I'll stop rambling. Don't forget to REVIEW, REVIEW, _REVIEW_! Thanks a bunch.

* * *

"_Love is a one-way street. _

_You can only fall in love one at a time."_

* * *

"_**-Forever Dawn-"**_

_**Chapter five: Reactions (Part Two)**_

_By, __modernxlove-_

**Ian's POV –**

"She's not an alien, Lori." I said through gritted teeth. I never noticed before, but she's such a hardheaded woman. "To be honest, you're acting more of an alien to me than Wanda is. What happened to you? You were so kind and gentle six years ago."

"Yeah, well tell _that_ to yourself." Lori snapped, releasing my sleeve.

"Okay," I continued, ignoring her bad mood. "If you want to know, Lori, I pick _her_. I pick Wanda. She's the only girl for me. And I love her like crazy."

"Whatever." She muttered, her eyes swelling up with tears. And even though I love Wanda, I still hated seeing Lori cry. I flinched.

"Will you stop that?" She said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Stop what?"

"Acting like that!" She yelled.

"Like _what_?" I demanded.

She sat back down in frustration, and the tears just kept trickling down her cheeks. "Stop pretending like you care for me! I already knew from the beginning how madly you were in love with that alien bitch. But you promised, Ian!" She glared at me, hazel eyes filled with morose.

I shook my head. Past is past, and Lori just happened to be part of my old life. Wanda is my present—my future. "Look, if you want honesty, just hear me out."

"No!" She growled, quickly standing up from her seated position. She gritted her teeth, and her brows were furrowed with intense anger. Everyone was staring at us now. "You're a bastard, Ian. You're nothing but a lying two-faced, bastard. Six years ago, you told me you loved me. You promised me you'd never let me go! So why now? _Why_?" She emphasized the words slowly and clearly.

I sighed. "Things change." I replied. "And you probably don't really love me like you used to either. We can still be friends," I said, with a swell of indignation. "Friends, but nothing more."

She shook her head, and wiped the tears that were falling. "You don't understand anything, Ian." She said defensively, slowly walking away, and then paused yet again. "You don't understand."

I clenched my fist out of habit, feeling a little bit guilty. But I still had my pride; and that, I could not lose. "I'm sorry." That was all I could manage. "But I just don't love you anymore. Picking you first was the wrong choice."

She started laughing—sarcasm evident all over it. "You're really sick, you know?" She said, chuckling like a maniac. "Falling in love with a stupid alien! Who do you think you are, Ian? _Elliot from E.T_? In case you haven't noticed, this is real life-"

"Ian, you alright?" Someone asked, tugging gently on my sleeve. I knew that voice anywhere. And I knew that I would always respond to it—whether it is I'm awake, asleep or even dead. It was Wanda.

"Why are you here?" I asked, my voice saturated with innocent surprise.

Wanda tilted her head to the side and smiled sweetly. "Well, you've been gone for five minutes and I was worried." She confessed, but then quickly muttered, "Just a little bit, I mean! So don't get the wrong idea, thinking I'm a worry-wart. Which I'm not. _Really_." She hesitated.

I laughed.

"You two really piss me off." Lori said in a loud voice, just loud enough for the people around us to hear. "Don't say I didn't warn you." And with that, she walked away and disappeared into the dark.

I shrugged and turned my gaze to Wanda, who was now frowning. I cupped her check. "What's wrong?" I asked her.

She sighed. "I'm sorry I interrupted you." She mumbled. "If you wanted to be with her, you could've just said so—"

And I interrupted her at once with a kiss. I swirled my tongue around her mouth, tasting her sweetness, and then I slowly pulled back, embracing her and pulling her slowly to my chest. "I want to be with _you_, and _you_ only." I said. "Don't worry about Lori. She's stubborn, but I'm sure she'll deal with us."

She turned away, her face flushed with a pink-reddish color. I grinned. "So, shall we go fetch us some water?" I said, pulling back from our hug.

She nodded, awkwardly, running her hands through her blonde hair. "Okay." I entwined my fingers to hers, as we both sauntered towards the kitchen way, to finish the water-bottling collecting task assigned to me.

**- Wanda's POV -**

"You think that's enough?" I asked Ian, as he finished filling up the tenth bottle.

"I guess so," He said, handling me one. He closed the sink's tap, and turned to me. "You carry one and I'll carry the rest." He picked all nine bottles with one swoop, and I couldn't help but feel amazed. He was so strong and I was just so weak. I felt a pang of guilt for letting him do everything, wherein I, did nothing but do little.

"I think I should carry five." I said. "Or maybe six."

Ian snorted. "_No way_. You'll end up spilling them all once we get there."

I frowned. "But I want to try. Why does everyone have to stop me whenever I want to do an act of charity?" I insisted. I just felt so useless. Everyday, the feeling gets worst. How can I continue living, if all I do is wash dishes and do laundries, while everyone else gets to do _real_ chores? I needed to be useful, but no one wanted me to try. All I wanted to help, what was wrong with that? Humans are so complicated. I just can't understand their way of thinking at times.

He smiled at me, his blue eyes penetrating in the dim-lit room. "Because I love you, and I don't want you to live like a slave. That's what a man does when he loves another woman." He pointed out, gently.

"Really?" I asked, innocently.

"Yeah." And then he chuckled at my expression. "You're such an adorable baby," He said.

I blinked. "A baby?" I asked, frowning. "But I'm not. I'm already eighteen. That's a legal adult—in a human's lifespan."

He laughed. "Yeah, right. But you're _my_ baby, baby."

"Umm." I said, not really understanding the situation. "Okay." I said brightly, playing along. But from the look of him smirking, I guess he read my mind and figured I didn't get what he meant.

We cleared the kitchen shortly, and walked over to Melanie and the group, who apparently, were still dying of thirst (especially Kyle—even though he already drank four bottles of water).

"About time," Kyle scoffed, reaching his hands out to get a bottle. Ian threw one at him and it hit his nose precisely, with a loud _bonk_! "Ian! What the fuck was that for, you idiot?" He yelled, cursing under his breath. "Trying to break my nose again?"

Ian snorted. "Don't worry, dear brother." He said, amusingly, as everyone was laughed. "Your nose can't get any uglier."

"You jackass." Kyle muttered, slowly opening his water bottle.

Jared nodded, taking a sip of his own. "Yes, Kyle. Your brother is right. Your nose is definitely already crooked and ugly. In fact, everyone should brace themselves whenever they look at you, Kyle, because your nose is absolutely hideous." He said, matter-of-factly.

Ian burst out with laughter.

"Funny, right?" Jared asked.

Kyle groaned. "You two are such losers."

Melanie chuckled. "Oh shut up, Kyle. And don't ruin the fun."

"I don't think your nose is hideous, Kyle." Sunny muttered a little shyly. "I think you look handsome. _Very_ handsome." She snuggled up to him and offered her water, which he quickly refused.

"I think only Sunny can see Kyle's beauty." Ian mattered, grinning.

"That's because she loves him," I pointed out. True, love _is_ blind. "And when you love someone, you take the good and the bad—just like how I love y-"

"Alright, enough with the love talk!" Melanie interrupted me. I frowned, and she sighed. "Sorry, I'm not in the mood for a lovey-dovey chit-chat right now. But if we talk about sex and pleasure, oh, I'd _love_ that. Who wants to open a topic about that certain suggestion?" She asked.

"What's _sex_?" I asked, exasperated. I tried to match every word behind the term 'sex' but Pet didn't seem to ever come across that term. I felt oddly buoyant, and a little bit out of place. "Umm, is it that thing you do when you want to get in touch with someone using a cellphone?" I asked.

Melanie cracked up, and everyone roared with laughter. That's '_text'_!" She laughed. "Were talking about '_sex'_! 'Text' is different from 'sex'!"

I blinked, just a little bit puzzled. "Huh?" I turned to look at Ian, and he his face reddened. "Ian?"

He turned away, almost as if he was blushing. "I'm sorry," I whispered, looking down. If only I had an electronic dictionary or something. That would be very useful…

Melanie hugged me from the bug. "Oh, Wanda! You're so dumb, but I love you anyways."

"Hey!" Ian snapped. "Don't talk like that to her."

Melanie rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Ian. Wanda, 'sex' is when you love someone enough that you want to be intimate with them. It's kind of like kissing and hugging and doing other stuff without clothes on."

…And that's when I remembered. "Oh! I know now!" I said, happy I finally got it. "Ian and I already had this 'sex'." I said, proud. And I smiled sweetly at Ian. "Right, Ian?"

He froze still. "Uhh." Everyone froze.

"_What_?" Jared, Melanie, Kyle, Nate, Jamie, Trudy and Lily asked altogether.

I nodded. "Well, yeah. Just this morning, I woke up without any clothes on, and so did Ian. And I was asking him if we did _it_, and he said yes, and I—"

He immediately covered my mouth with his hands, stopping me to a halt. "Okay!" He said, hesitantly. "I think that's enough, Wanda!" He said, focusing desperately on my eager face. "I don't think we need to talk about our… um, relationship with these idiots." And he had a point. I just nodded and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Kyle smirked. "Oh, now that you mention it, Ian," Kyle said at last, a hint of revenge etched on his features. "Last night was such a romantic night for you two, wasn't it?"

"Yeah!" I nodded directly. Ian didn't respond, though I wondered why.

"Umm," He said, his face so desperate to change topics, as he glances self-consciously at his elder brother, and then back at me.

"Don't worry, Ian." Kyle said, laughing lightly. "I won't tell anyone how you came unto Wanda last night, just doing that _move_ with her, _touching_ her _there_ and stuff like that."

Ian looked down, avoiding any gazes from the surprised faces surrounding him. "Don't believe him" He muttered, nervously. "He's lying. You all know Kyle. He's a liar."

"Come to think of it," I began. "I don't remember much from last night… just that when I woke up, I was naked in Ian's arms." I smiled at him and he groaned. Oh. Did I say something wrong? Maybe I should have just kept my mouth shut from the beginning. _Okay, Wanderer, no more talking about 'sex' ever again!, _I mentally scolded myself.

Melanie gasped and slapped Ian on the right side of his cheek. "How dare you?!"

"What did I do?!" Ian demanded, holding his sore check. "I didn't do anything! Jeez!"

Melanie rolled her eyes. "Wanda, don't go out with this man ever again." She ordered seriously. I frowned, my throat feeling sore.

Jared patted her softly on the back. "Now, now, baby." He said. "Don't punish a man just because he wants to have some fun. I mean, look at us. We do it almost every night—"

_SMACK!_

And he was slapped on the face by an enraged Melanie too; an enraged Melanie who was now blushing and flustered, and self-conscious. She was now acting like Ian—all sweaty and nervous. Was this some kind of heat sickness? Or was this something embarrassing?

Jamie pretended to throw up. "Ewwww.." He shuddered, slowly standing up. "I don't want to talk about this. It's just… _gross_! You people are disgusting. I'm getting out of here."

"Sorry, guys." Lily said, rising to her knees, as she decided to follow Jamie. "Not really interested in sexual life. Haven't found my special guy yet." She admitted with a laugh.

Melanie then turned to look at me, her brows furrowed. "Wanda, sex is a serious matter. You don't just do it rashly. It's a responsibility! I just hope you did it with condoms." She said, sighing. Sunny and Burns were just looking at each other, their expressions confused, clueless and puzzled, just as I was. "If you have sex, you have to be sure you used condoms. Did you two use condoms?" She asked both Ian and I.

I shook my head slightly. "I'm not really sure."

Melanie shot Ian a frustrated glance. "And what about you?"

Ian just shrugged. "Don't remember."

Melanie groaned yet again. "Do I have to always be the mother around here?!" She asked herself. "Just remember, don't do it ever again, unless you're really sure you're responsible enough to do it. Because I do not want you getting pregnant around here. You understand, Wanda?" She asked me, making sure.

I nodded.

* * *

I was having such a good week; maybe because I knew that essentially everything had gone back to the way it used to be between Ian and me. Or maybe it was just the knowledge of knowing that Ian loved me, my sentence was served and he was mine again. Love was so close it was touchable, taste-able. The butterflies created every time Ian were to move close to me still twisted inside my stomach—it was a wonderful feeling. A feeling that couldn't be expressed in words.

One night, while everyone had finished dinner and decided it was time to have a shut-eyed rest, Ian and I were lying in his bed—fully awake, yet silent, fingers intertwined with each other as we were snuggling close together.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked me quietly.

I snuggled closer to his chest and smiled. "Nothing, really." I responded with a grin.

He gently placed a kiss on top of my forehead, brushing strands of my hair with his fingers. "Do you know what I'm thinking about?" He asked.

I shook my head lightly. "What?"

"I'm thinking about how precious you are to my life—how I can never let you apart from me." He responded.

I closed my eyes, feeling the tingles of the butterflies all around me. I held his hand tighter and kissed his chest. "You're important to me too," I muttered softly. He slowly sat up from our lying position, his hands not leaving mine. He gazed down at me, his beautiful sapphire-blue eyes holding mine. I felt my heart thump with love. I saw a hint of hesitancy flicker from his eyes.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

He didn't answer. Instead, he got up from the bedside, walked towards a small wooden table, opened the drawers and picked out a tiny black-colored box. He made his way back to the bed and sat beside me. This time, I took a good look at the box—the box's surface was smooth with black satin. I looked at him quizzically.

He smiled. "It's for you." He said, placing the box gently ton top of my extended palm. "I found it while I was rummaging through old stuff, and I thought that it was time to give it to you.."

"May I?" I asked, my hands shaking. I think I recalled something about this tiny box from Pet's memories—or at least memories from this host body I was wearing. I seen it so many times; it was just hidden deep inside my thoughts. I think it's going to be a ring, or something. Some kind of ring used to bind two souls together. I felt my heart rate jump and my palms were sweating.

He laughed lightly at my expression. "Well, go on. Open it." He said brusquely.

I brushed my fingers over the box's top, hesitating. "Um, alright." I said, lifting the lid. Nestles into the white satin inside was a tiny silver-colored ring, sparkling in the dim light. My heart was beating, and I felt my eyes swell up. It was a ring—and it was beautiful. It was silver and gold, with a ruby-colored heart embedded at the center.

"It's beautiful." I said, tears dripping down slowly. "I.. thank you, Ian. I-I don't know what to say—"

"You don't have to say anything," He said, smiling, his eyes filled with joy, as he leaned over and kissed me in the lips.

* * *

**Well, what did you think of it? Was it soo horrible? I know it was and I'm sorry. I just typed everything down without much thought. Please forgive me; the next chapter will be so much better.**

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**Thanks to my awesome REVIEWERS: **iluvIan!, Cherry Tulips, Princess Skye, Nikki Lakes, BlUeEyEdFrEaK13, RussianPwnage6, WakeMyDreaams, ..moon.135, -DisturbiaXx, Kimmie, BlueFireIce, Porsches As Bribes and Casey. **Thanks so much!**


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